James Harden and Dwight Howard’s partnership in Houston resulted in three-straight playoff appearances and a trip to the Western Conference Finals. Last season, however, was filled with turmoil as Houston fired coach Kevin McHale early in the year and stumbled to a 41-41 record and an eight seed in the West.
Howard left H-Town in the offseason for the Atlanta Hawks and is having a bounce back year thus far, averaging 17 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. Last night, Howard and the Hawks beat Harden and the Rockets 112-97—despite a near triple-double from the Beard—to improve to 4-2. After the game, Dwight assured that there is “no beef” between the former teammates.
More from ESPN:
“Everybody is always looking for a beef between a player when they leave a team,” Howard said. “There’s no beef. Both of us came from nothing and we made it. I’ll never be mad or hate on another player because he made it. His dream came true. I’m happy for him, and hopefully he’ll continue to play great.”
The big man continued saying that he has “no ill will toward any player in this league:”
“There’s always going to be stories, that’s the nature of this business, people are going to make stories up,” Howard said. “I have no ill will toward any player in this league — all of us have had to come from nothing to make it. I always wish him nothing but the best. I think he’s a very talented player and has a great opportunity in front of him to lead a very young team, and he’s doing a good job as an individual making plays, passing the ball great and hopefully he’ll keep it up.”
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