Talk about a debut. It might have taken The Dwight Howard Era of Los Angeles Lakers basketball a little while to get off the ground, but it appears it was well worth the wait. Howard played his first game as a Laker in Sunday's 99-92 loss to the Sacramento Kings, nearly six months to the day after undergoing major back surgery to repair a herniated disk. It was barely noticeable that Howard had ever been out as he filled up the box score with 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting, 12 rebounds, four blocks and two assists while playing 33 minutes. "It was fun," Howard told reporters after the game. "I had a lot of fun tonight. I'm just thankful and blessed to be able to step on the floor again." The 26-year-old center did not waste time getting his name in the scorebook. He assisted on a Kobe Bryant 3-pointer on the Lakers' first possession and threw down an alley-oop off a Pau Gasol feed less than a minute later for his first bucket while wearing purple and gold. Bryant returned the favor to Howard late in the second quarter, lofting a pass up towards the rim that Howard dutifully grabbed and sent home for a slam, sending the crowd into a frenzy. "I just wanted to make sure he gets his feet wet," Bryant said. "There's been a lot of expectations placed upon him and upon us to live up to the hype and I didn't want him to feel nervous." Source: ESPN
