Dwight Howard suspended one game after picking up 16th technical

Dwight Howard and Udonis Haslem got into it Thursday night. It was Haslem’s first game of the season and he was ejected 2:40 into it after getting in the face of Howard after the Sixers big man had knocked him to the ground in a rebound battle.

Dwight Howard and Udonis Haslem were getting HEATED in Miami: pic.twitter.com/zgzjDEznnk

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) May 14, 2021

Howard picked up a technical foul in all that, his 16th of the season, meaning he faces an automatic suspension for one game. The NBA made that official on Friday. Here’s the official wording from the league:

Under NBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended without pay for one game once he receives his 16th technical foul during a regular season. For every two additional technical fouls received during that regular season, the player or coach will be automatically suspended without pay for an additional game.

Howard will be out tonight (Friday) when the 76ers take on the Magic. If the 76ers win the game, they will clinch the No. 1 seed in the East.

Howard feels he gets some reputation technicals that other players would not. Here is what he said last month, via Noah Levick at NBC Sports Philadelphia.

“I have felt like I’m being targeted, but I’m just going to continue to play as hard as I can,” he said. “I want all the Philly fans to know that I’m out there giving 130 percent every night. The calls might not go my way, I might seem a little frustrated, but I’m out there to help this team win a championship. Sometimes the refs do give me some calls that I feel are unwarranted, even the technical fouls.

Dallas’ Luka Doncic remains one technical foul short of the threshold.