Dwight Howard caps ejection by faking out jersey-seeking fan

Dwight Howard saw his popularity wane in recent years thanks in large part to the impression that he desperately wanted to be liked. Thankfully, Howard seems to have cooled off his public relations full-court press in his first season with his hometown Atlanta Hawks. No longer a generation-defining superstar, Howard can focus on impressing people with his strong play at both ends and make a comfortable transition into the last five or so years of his career. Perhaps it’s no coincide that Dwight is now more likable than at any point since things went sour in Orlando.

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Sometimes Howard even appears to seek out the role of heel. Take his eventful third quarter in Monday’s game at the Boston Celtics. With 9:31 remaining in the period, Howard picked up his first technical foul for swatting at Al Horford, the man he replaced in Atlanta, after a foul:

Then, with a little more than four minutes left in the third, Howard was hit with his second tech and an automatic ejection for hanging on the rim after a dunk:

But Howard wasn’t done there — he saved his truly nefarious action for his trip to the locker room. As Howard removed his jersey, one Celtics fan right in front of him made it very clear that she wanted it as a souvenir. Unfortunately for her, Dwight went another way:

That’s just cold, Dwight. You ruined her night.

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On the other hand, maybe Howard felt like being a little petty for good reason. A few hours after the conclusion of Monday’s game, the NBA announced a correction on his second technical:

The league rarely issues these statements so soon after a game, so it must have seen something wrong. On the other hand, it didn’t matter much for the Hawks. Up 10 at the time of Howard’s ejection, the Hawks led by double digits over the final 13:55 on their way to a 114-98 win. Oddly enough, Howard also finished with the team’s most impressive line — 17 points, 12 rebounds (six offensive), and two blocks in 27 minutes.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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