Rockets center Dwight Howard hopes to play in game two

OAKLAND, USA – Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard said he hopes that his sore left knee, which he hurt in opener of the NBA Western Conference finals, won’t prevent him from playing in Thursday’s game two.

“I don’t think that it’s going to be something that is going to restrict me from playing for the rest of the series,” Howard said on Wednesday.

“I’m just going to stay positive, stay focused and the doctors are going to do their job to make sure I get on the floor.”

Houston officially listed Howard’s injury as a strain and said he is questionable for game two on Thursday.

The eight-time all-star was injured when he took a hit to his left leg from team-mate Josh Smith during the first quarter of Tuesday’s 110-106 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

He returned to start the third quarter but was limited by the injury and did not score a single point in the second half.

“It was very painful,” said Howard, who finished with just seven points. “I tried to play.”

Howard, who averaged 17.6 points and 13.9 rebounds during Houston’s second-round series win over the Los Angeles Clippers, missed 41 games during the regular season because of swelling in his other knee. – Rappler.com