LOS ANGELES – Former Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard fouled out of the game in the 4th quarter of his regular season debut with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Howard scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds before fouling out of the game with 2:02 to play. His exit helped the Mavericks hold on to a 99-91 victory on the opening night of the NBA season.
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Howard missed a two-handed dunk on his first shot from the field -- and things didn't improve from that point on. The former Magic center went on to miss 11 of his 14 free throws in his debut.
''We haven't had an opportunity to really play together as much as we want, but we're going to get it," Howard told reporters. "We're going to chip away, and we're going to get better.''
Howard was also called for a flagrant foul in the third quarter for hammering Mavericks forward Elton Brand on an open shot.
The new Lakers center played 38 minutes -- second only to Lakers forward Pau Gasol -- in his first regular season game since having surgery for a herniated disk.
The three-time Defensive Player of the Year finished with just one block in the opener.