Dwight Howard will look to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a victory in his first road game against his former Orlando Magic Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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Howard returns for the first time since his offseason trade to the Lakers to face the jilted fans, front office members and handful of teammates that he left behind.
"I'm not sure," Magic point guard Jameer Nelson said when asked about his expectations for Tuesday. "Obviously the atmosphere is gonna be probably a little turned up, a littler crazier than we've had so far this year."
Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu and Glen Davis are the only players on the Magic's roster that have previously played with Howard. With Davis out with a broken foot and Turkoglu serving a suspension for violating the NBA's drug policy, only Nelson will play in the rematch.
There will be a No. 12 on the Magic's sideline, though. Only it will be worn by one of the Magic's most recent acquisitions, second-year forward Tobias Harris. He's been wearing it since his senior year in high school.
Fans once called Howard "D-12," they now refer to Harris as "T-12," a subtle dig to the star whose luster has faded in central Florida.
If his contentious departure from Orlando didn't add enough heat to Tuesday, Howard tweaked many in Orlando last week when he referred to his former Magic team as "full of people that nobody wanted" during a television interview. He clarified later saying he only meant they were underrated.
He went further Monday when he apologized for his part in last year's drama during an interview with USA Today, saying in part that he "handled a lot of stuff the wrong way" and got caught up in trying to please everyone.
Howard acknowledges, though, that his reception will be icy.
"My dad said I might as well get earplugs," Howard said. "I think it'll be tough for everybody...I heard they have chants ready, so it should be interesting."
