Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard got into a physical confrontation with Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol during the first quarter of Friday night’s NBA preseason game in Memphis.
Howard pushed Gasol after Gasol threw Rockets’ point guard Patrick Beverley to the floor. Gasol responded by shoving Howard back. The two were quickly separated and nothing more came of the situation. Howard was called for a personal foul, but both Howard and Gasol were called for technical fouls.
Broadcasters couldn’t understand how no call was made on Gasol for tossing Beverley to the ground, but after a closer look at the replay, it appears that Beverley may have flopped just a bit.
The fact that Howard would step in for his teammate is big, Howard is new to the Rockets and this type of aggression may help win the trust of teammates and Houston fans.
Watch the entire play in the video.