Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard Clash in Lakers vs Rockets NBA Game

Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard used to be buddies when they were still playing together for the Los Angeles Lakers. However, their latest meeting during the NBA season opener on Tuesday night showed nothing of such friendship.

During the fourth quarter of the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets, Bryant tried to steal the ball from Howard after the latter got the rebound. This was where things got physical and a little personal.

According to Bleacher Report, Howard hit Bryant in the face with his elbow. Then in retaliation, Byrant "may have" called Howard "soft," according to John Ledesman.

The referee stepped in before anything else could happen.

The Lakers posted in their Twitter account to explain the ref's call. "Kobe picks up the personal, him & Howard also get T's. After review, the refs tack on a flagrant 1 to Dwight for the elbow to the face."

After the incident, Byrant shared his sentiments about the incident.

"You can't help but like him, he's a teddy bear," Bryant said, referring to Howard. "I really mean that. He is a really nice kid. But you know me. When you're competing and you have a goal in mind, I know one way to get there and there's certain times you don't see eye to eye. That wasn't one of those situations. He elbowed me in the face, you know I am going to let him know I don't like that. It's that simple."

Even though it was a call, Bryant still acknowledged that the play was "fantastic."

"Elbows are part of the game. Trash talk is part of the game. I don't know where the NBA became so sensitive. It's all part of it," he said.

Meanwhile, the Houston big man did not say anything about the incident. The media asked him multiple times about it and all he said was: "What do you want me to say because I'm not going to give you nothing. That's stupid. We won the game. It's over with."

This maybe a smart move for Howard because he and the Rockets have a bigger goal in mind than dealing with the ref's call. Just as what Kevin Zimmerman from SB Nation wrote, "There's no point for Howard to dwell on the past."