HOUSTON — Dwight Howard was up, yelling. He had those hands cupped around his mouth as he hollered to his teammates on the court. When he’s on the bench, Howard actually doesn’t spend much time on the bench. He’s usually standing, yelling out coverages and encouraging teammates. It was during a break in play following a kicked ball in the third quarter of the Lakers’ 124-115 win in Houston that he wandered a little too far onto the court as he made his overtures.



“Dwight!”



Zach Zarba, the lead official on the officiating crew hollered at Howard from 25 feet away.



“Dwight!”



He made a gesture for Howard to back up. Howard looked down and said something to Matt Boland, the referee standing in front of him.



Technical foul.



“I was just trying to get my guys going,” Howard later said. “I didn’t say anything disrespectful to the ref, just got it while I was...