Howard: I didn't intend to hurt anyone
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Howard: I didn't intend to hurt anyone
UPDATED:
The NBA has suspended Orlando center Dwight Howard for Thursday's Game 6 against the Sixers for an elbow to the head of Samuel Dalembert. The suspension is without pay.
Howard, the Magic center, hit Dalembert, the Sixers center, with 9:15 remaining in the first period of Orlando’s 91-78 victory over the 76ers in Game 5 last night.
"I'm very disappointed but I have to respect the NBA's decision," Howard said in a statement. "I didn't intend to hurt anyone. I have complete faith in my teammates that they will come out and get the job done tomorrow night."
Howard was assessed a technial foul, although the rules stipulate that an elbow delivered above the shoulders includes an ejection.
The Sixers alerted the league to the situation last night. Commissioner David Stern was in attendance at Amway Arena.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy told Orlando reporters that he had not decided if Marcin Gortat or Tony Battie will start for Howard. Asked if he thought the league would suspend Howard after he watched the video, "No, I didn't. I didn't really have any idea what they might do."
"I don't have any big reaction," Van Gundy said. "They give you the news and you have to prepare your team to go without him. You just move on."
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Magic guard Courtney Lee will miss Game 6 with a fractured sinus, the result of an inadvertent elbow from teammate Dwight Howard, who was attempting to block a shot by the Sixers' Willie Green.
Veteran guard Anthony Johnspn would seem the likely replacement for Lee in the starting lineup.
Van Gundy said he didn't know if Courtney Lee could play a possible Game 7. Regarding Lee, he said: "It's been that kind of season, what can I tell you."
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Also, game time for Thursday's Game 6 at the Wachovia Center has been set for 7:30 p.m.
Comments (40)
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If he isn't suspended the NBA is officially a joke.....stars needed to be treated the same as any other player in the league and this is clearly deserving of a 1 game suspension since he was not ejected!— cujat13- Howard's a menace...he's even knocking his own guys out of games with elbows to the head, lol— JimG
- Howard is a great player, but a suspension has to me forthcoming. Had that been a player like Reggie Evans - he would have been tossed from last night’s game.— dogbullet2000
- Its simple, if he is not suspended then tomorrow Sammy just completely knocks this dudes face off with an elbow that he brings from his feet and just obliterates him!!..Your going to lose the series anyway and he stinks so you might as well give the home town fans something to cheer about!!...— CROSSI
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- Howard's elbow to Dalembert was clearly worth an ejection, and as much I hate to admit it... because the Ref's missed it, he should be suspended for game 6. But you guys are unbelievable, have some respect for your team and stop whining. Specifically to CROSSI- is Dalembert a ninja?, and rhett.bogan - let me get this straight, Howard throws an elbow, and somehow you are making the logical jump that if the NBA doesn't suspend him, guns are next? the swiggie guy has it right, except you failed to mention that most coaches are dopes... not just in Philly. So don't feel so bad ;)— OrlandMagic Fan
- Send in the goon.— brmorgen81
- What is there to review exactly? It was a pretty vicious deliberate elbow to the head well after the play. I am not going to cry about other calls in this series but this is clear-cut. Howard should have been ejected and past incidents like this have always resulted in at least a one game suspension. The NBA has a lot to be embarrassed about in last night's games. Anybody catch Rajon Rondo fishook Brad Miller causing stitches and blood and not even getting a flagrant foul? Is this wrestling or professional basketball? For a leage that had a gigantic ref scandal recently this sort of thing is mind numbing. And they wonder why the NBA has a bad image?— brannigan73
- Orlando Magic Fan, the missed ejection has nothing to do with the suspension if it happens. The league almost always suspends guys when they punch or elbow somebody deliberately in the face. Howard should have been ejected AND been suspended for game six. Unless the league suspends Howard for two games, which is highly unlikely, the Magic are still catching a break. That kind of thuggery can't be condoned.— brannigan73
- swiggie, u r d dope...— fabfan
- Dwight Howard would have to stab someone during a game to get a suspension from the league during the playoffs. He'll play the next game - guaranteed.— tomm1030
- The league needs to suspend him. Now that they see the tape, do the right thing, what should have been done Tuesday. If they don't suspend him, bring Reggie Evans in help him blindside him.— 76er
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- Yeah, Swiggie, you are definatel worthy of "a Sign". You can't put Charlie in the same company with DiLeo and Reid. Charlie has the ring...remember?— VinRocky
- brannigan.... He elbowed the guy, so he should be suspended. and he was -- see here -- >> http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/04/29/howard.ap/index.html Now stop whining people, its done. And the magic will still win game 6. See you here Thursday night for more whining about how Rashard Lewis scores too much.— OrlandMagic Fan
- Actually, I didn't think it was a particularly viscious elbow but the rules are the rules. Speaking of rules, is the 3 second rule still in effect? Howard stands in the lane for entire possesions. That rule was put into place for a reason. Mainly to prevent the game from getting boring.— MikeP
- Sam Dalembert gives his max effort almost all the time, the problem is that he has no idea how to play basketball.— brmorgen81
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- Look, all Howard did, was do what most 76er fans wanted to do to Dalembert anyway. He constantly complains to the coach and always wants the ball. He sucks and hopefully will be gone next year and become a foul machine for someone else. The guy doesnt understand basketball and thinks that because he is tall that automatically makes him good...— Prego614
It doesn't matter anyway, you would think without Howard, Dalembert could maybe dominate whoever else they bring in... NOT!! We may still struggle 'cause Dollbaby Dalembert is softer than cotton.— Reese- I doubt Anthony Johnson would start in place of Courtney Lee since Johnson is a PG and Lee is a SG. Both Pietrus and Redick play shooting guard and will split the time in game 6.— OrlandoMagic
- this reminds of the 80's playoff game where the lakers were missing jabbar and the sixers were assured of a win. magic went off and the lakers were champs. the level of interest in that game was slightly ahead of this series.— natedog
- Nobody is ever assured of anything...but the Sixers have a better chance of winning without Howard in there, nobody can reasonably argue otherwise. By the way, last time I checked, the Magic don't have anyone else on their roster that is even remotely in the same class of player as Magic Johnson to carry the team without Howard there.— JimG
- Whiskeybrain, Sammy was dogging long, long before Tony D became coach genius.— mikeyboy
Howard: I didn't intend to hurt anyone----RIGHT!! What do you call 24 and 24-hugs and kisses--His was nothing compared to what Rondo did to Brad Miller at the end of the Celts game-and that got called only after the Refs saw the blood on the floor..elbow above the shoulders-mandatory ejection. Sixers have a great chance in Game 6-if they dont get over confident.— HO HUM- 1980. Kareem out for NBA Finals game 6 at the Spectrum. A shoo-in for the Sixers. Then Magic scored 42 points, many on an assortment of inside moves as if he played inside all his life. Don't think the Magic have a Magic, but you never know how that team will respond to the challenge. Sixers cannot let up because of this.— retzlaff
- swiggie - while i'm not a big charlie manuel fan, i'd still have to put you in the category of "dope." pk— PhillyTheKid
- If the Sixers were up 3-2, there is no way he gets suspended for Game 6!— 2Parm
- What is really funny is they didn't replay it in the arena. We were in decent seats but it happened pretty quickly and on the same end we were on but we didn't catch it. Even the incident with Lee wasn't replayed. When he went down everyone was standing so you couldn't see him and the next thing we knew he was being helped off the court. So they knew Howard looked bad in both incidents.— iammsmaam
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- howard sent david stern a thank-you note so he doesn't have to listen to van gundy's whining.— natedog
- Dwight shouldn't have thrown the elbow, but can you blame the guy? He had hands in his face right before it happened after the ball had gone through the basket. If anything, he was trying to keep things going while Dalembart was hanging on his jersey. For him to get a technical foul and then a suspension a DAY LATER is ridiculous. A fine would have been much more appropriate. To Magic fans getting heated about all this message board nonsense...don't take it too seriously: 76ers fans are a joke. I had a lady from Philly tell me that they give 76ers fans unlimited food and beer for 30 bucks just to keep attendance steady.— rick_nerrington
- this has been a great series and now things are really interesting. If the sixers can win game six against the short handed (or short elbowed) magic then game seven could be a classic. Sixers need another outside shooter/scorer in the draft to make them really dangerous.— NBAdraftRoom.com
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- "He didn't want to hurt anyone!?" Just what does he think an elbow thrown at a head means, a love-tap? The home team doesn't get the calls, Orlando has been getting the calls all series. Howard gets away with traveling, charging, defensive three seconds, offensive three seconds and holding. If called properly, he would have finished all the games on the bench. If the officials had any integrity he would have been ejected from the game for that, as well as suspended for tonight's game.— ricky
- All of you whiners can start whining your way to the off season hoping for some help... I told you the Magic would STILL beat you guys without Howard. Take this time-off to think about how to stop worrying about who gets penalized, who gets suspended, and worry about being better fans. (not to mention Dalembert elbowed Turkoglu in the head tonight, and I'm guessing none of you will start calling for him to be suspended for the 1st game of next season. Its funny that turkoglu got tossed... lol) See you next year Philly.— OrlandMagic Fan
- no doubt intent to injure 5 minute power play and Sammy if he had a functioning brain would have hit the floor hard.i felt that from home.Old school both benches empty now ,noone says a word— lawrence2465
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About this blog
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
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