The Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers squared off again Wednesday night but this time Rockets star Dwight Howard was absent. Amongst his legal troubles with his babymother and whisperings of his previous altercation with Kobe Bryant, Howard sat out with a “sprained right knee” and did not even watch the game from the bench. After the Lakers pulled off the 98-92 win, Kobe was asked about his previous spat with Howard when he called him “soft” as well Kevin Durant’s recent incident where he called Howard “p*ssy”.