Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard suffered a left knee bruise in the first quarter of the 110-106 series-opening loss Tuesday night to the Golden State Warriors.
Dwight Howard is limping after Josh Smith fell into Howard's left knee.
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) May 20, 2015
The big fella spent the rest of the game struggling with the injury, cycling and taking abuse from Warriors fans.
Howard is hoping to suit up for Game 2 Thursday night.
Per the Houston Chronicle:
After the game, there was no update on Howard’s condition. He will have the knee checked out on Wednesday and go from there. […] “We get a day to rest, and we will look at it in the morning,” Howard said. “There really isn’t anything we can do tonight but just ice it, so we will see tomorrow.”
Howard, who missed 41 games in the regular season – including two months just before the playoffs started with edema in his right knee – finished the game with seven points and 13 rebounds before sitting for the night 51 seconds into the fourth quarter. He played 27 minutes in the 110-106 loss to the Warriors.
“It was bothering me the whole game,” Howard said. “I couldn’t run, jump or do anything.” […] “I am just going to keep fighting,” Howard said. “It’s a long series; I am not going to stop fighting. I was hurt tonight, but hopefully I will feel better tomorrow. I don’t think that it will be something that will restrict me from playing for the rest of the series. I am going to stay positive, stay focused and the doctors are going to do their jobs to get me back on the floor.”
