Last night, Dwight Howard made his only appearance in New Jersey this season, and gave Nets fans a taste of what they have been clamoring for.
Howard barely broke a sweat in the Magic’s 108-91 win over the Nets at Prudential Center, and still put together an eye-popping stat line. In 34 minutes, the superstar center finished with 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field, along with 17 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.
It was a festive atmosphere inside the arena, despite the fact the home team was down 34-17 after the first quarter, and never got within 10 points the rest of the way. That was because many of the 15,364 fans in attendance spent much of the evening serenading Howard, the center they dream of seeing paired with Nets star point guard Deron Williams as the team prepares to move to Brooklyn this fall.
Fans brandished posters, waved signs, held up large cut-outs of Howard’s face and cheered him wildly throughout the game, and Howard admitted afterward that he’d noticed it during the game.
“I was heavily recruited in high school,” Howard said. “The only difference is this is the NBA. … It’s a whole different scale.
“I understand how recruiting works, but, like I said, I have to put all of that aside and focus on one thing, which is us winning basketball games and me leading our team, night in and night out.That’s the only thing I’ve been focused on.”
The fans weren’t the only ones trying to impress Howard. The Nets set up several displays outside of the Orlando locker room showing off the franchise’s future home, the Barclays Center.
“I really didn’t focus on that tonight,” Howard said. “The only thing I can control is what I do on the court, and I’m just going to continue to do that.”
Howard’s interest in the Nets is no secret, after he requested a trade to the Nets during training camp — and the Magic allowed his agent, Dan Fegan, to speak with the Nets, Lakers and Mavericks about potential deals with each team.
Much of that has to do with the potential of playing alongside the Nets’ star point guard, Deron Williams, whom Howard praised after watching Williams finish the game with 23 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
“Deron is a special player,” Howard said. “He can score. He’s tough to guard. He’s quick. … He can turn it on when he has to. He’s fun to watch.”
Howard deflected any questions about a potential future with the Nets, saying he was only focused on the Magic, who improved to 22-12 with last night’s win and currently sit in third in the Eastern Conference.
“We’re playing great basketball,’’ he said. “I just think we’ve got to keep it up, stay humble, stay focused and continue to push.
“We need to keep the momentum going into the All-Star break and have a better second half than first half. That’s the talk around the locker room, is having a great second half of the season and making a push towards a championship.”