Dwight Howard Vows Revenge Against Warriors’ David Lee

It was not bad enough that the Golden State Warriors bruised the Los Angeles Lakers Monday night in Oakland. They left Dwight Howard bloodied, too, and the L.A. big man was not happy about it.

Specifically, Warriors all-star forward David Lee busted up Howard with a elbow into his mouth on a drive to the basket, causing a cut that required three stitches to close.

“I will take care of it later,” Howard said.

Howard was limited to 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting in the Lakers’ 109-103 loss. That did not seem to bother him as much as Lee.

“He got away with a shot,” Howard said, according to Yahoo! Sports. “I will remember this game. I will remember that shot. He said he wasn’t trying to do it. You can look at the play and see it for yourself. I will take care of it later.”

Howard will not have to wait long. The Lakers host the Warriors two weeks from Friday, on April 12, in the third-to-last regular-season game for both teams.

That said, the Lakers, who are vying for a Western Conference playoff spot, lost an 18-point lead to the Washington Wizards and then fell behind by 23 points to Golden State before mounting a token comeback and falling short. Not the type of efforts for a team claiming it is playoff worthy.

Curry scored 25 points and had 10 assists two nights after sustaining a sprained ankle. The Lakers also struggled to contain Lee, who added 23 points and 12 rebounds as the Warriors improved to 41-31.

With the loss, the Lakers dropped to 36-35 and hold only a one-game lead over the Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot.

“We are the better basketball team,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “They are in the rearview mirror and I have not checked it and I will not.”

The frustration for the Lakers was apparent to end the first half. First, Metta World Peace jawed at Lee, then awkwardly patted the All-Star forward’s head after officials intervened.

A few minutes later, Howard picked up the technical foul while exchanging words with Lee and an official, after he was called for a foul on Lee’s layup.

“We made a statement in that first half,” Jackson said. He could have been talking about Lee’s elbow, too.

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