Dwight Howard was roundly booed and subjected to chants of "Kobe, Kobe," during the Houston Rockets preseason game in the Philippines against the Indiana Pacers Thursday night.
In the first ever NBA game played in Manila, the overflow Mall of Asia crowd was clearly pro-Bryant, heckling Howard for much of the night, according to ProBasketballTalk.com.
The website reports Bryant has made multiple trips to the Philippines on his summer Nike tours in recent years and has built a loyal and sizeable fan base there.
Howard bolted L.A. for Houston via free agency this summer and took roughly $30 million less in salary to do so. Thursday night, he paid the price---at least in the eyes of Bryant fans, who even derided him with each of his missed free throws.
In 24 minutes of action, things didn't get much better for Howard, who finished with just 9 points and three rebounds on 3-of-9 shooting.Thought the Rockets easily outraced the Pacers 116-96, Howard was also just 1-of-4 from the free throw line.
Howard makes his much anticipated L.A. return on Nov. 4 when the Rockets face the Clippers. Three nights later, he squares off against the Lakers for the first time since leaving the franchise.
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