Dwight Howard scores 39 in return to Orlando

Lakers 106, Magic 97

Howard scored a season-high 39 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, going to the foul line 39 times in the process. That tied a free throw record that he himself set just last season. Many of the free throws came in the second half as part of a “Hack-a-Dwight” strategy, but it backfired, as Howard made 16-of-20 freebies in the second half.

But when he sat down with Time Warner Cable SportsNet’s Kevin Frazier for a program titled “Connected With ... Dwight Howard” that aired after Tuesday’s game against the Orlando Magic, he revealed that his surgically-repaired back was nowhere close to where it needed to be for him to be at his best, and it may have contributed to his issues early on.

“I would say I was really about 60 percent,” he told Frazier. “The biggest thing was conditioning, explosiveness, getting my legs back, and my strength back -- my body. For a whole six months, I couldn’t lift weights, and for me, that was killing me.”

Bryant was quiet in his own regard with 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field, but contributed elsewhere with eight assists and seven rebounds.

The Lakers (34-31) moved to three games above .500 for the first time this season. They overcame a poor shooting performance from the free-throw line by shooting 46.6 from the field and scoring via easy looks inside, totaling 34 points in the paint.

XOXO, Dwight.

Aside from that wonderful gentleman, the rest of the Orlando crowd is filled with Howard signs of varying creativity. Observe:

• Vince Carter doesn’t like dunking anymore

Further leading to distaste for the one-time hero whose relationship with the city has soured is the situation in Orlando, where a replacement for the face of the franchise is still lacking.

Showing their support with duct-taped Dwight Howard gear.

On the one hand, a video tribute probably would have looked weird given the circumstances. On the other hand, Howard did have eight largely-successful years in Orlando, and a video tribute is customary for a returning star. Clearly, this return is different.

Nelson didn’t want to talk much about the issues with Howard during the morning shootaround that has the Orlando media swarming, according to NBA.com’s John Denton. At the same time, the point guard is only trying to move on:

Howard again said Tuesday that he’d reached out to Nelson to apologize for his comments, but hadn’t received a response. The longest-tenured Magic player said that friendships come and go in the NBA, that might be the case between the two former teammates, who Denton says were once close friends.

His return riles up some bitter feelings among many Magic fans. According to ESPN Los Angeles’ Dave McMenamin, Howard is trying to keep it all business.

Howard told the media that his first return to Orlando since being shipped off to the Lakers in the offseason was “like normal.” He said he visited his old home and visited his favorite Waffle House, McMenamin reports.

The latest edition of the melodrama surrounding Howard revolved around his comments to a Los Angeles television station that he lead an Orlando team “full of guys no one else wanted.” That generated another predictable firestorm surrounding the embattled superstar, but his larger point -- that Orlando hadn’t developed enough young talent around him to be a consistent contender -- makes some sense. Ironically enough, the Magic’s haste to prevent Howard from leaving like Shaquille O’Neal by surrounding him with “win-now” veterans ended up paving the way for his eventual departure.

• Tom Ziller: Revisiting the Dwight Howard trade

Dwight Howard told teammates he was going to be traded at the beginning of last season, former Magic teammate J.J. Redick told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles.

With the Lakers clinging to the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoffs, they head to Orlando for the first time since acquiring Howard in the offseason. Buried in Shelburne’s nice read about Howard’s rough transition -- as a person and a basketball player -- from Orlando to the bright lights and harsh media criticism of L.A. is a tidbit from Redick.

Meanwhile, the Sixers picked up the pivot they desperately needed and the Lakers became a juggernaut again. Welp. Things have worked out for Denver, but Philadelphia is hanging its head and L.A. is fighting for a playoff spot. Meanwhile, at least one of the pieces the Magic picked up -- Vucevic -- looks something like a fine young player on a rookie deal.

The 22-year-old Montenegrin is shooting 52 percent from the floor while averaging 14 points and 13 rebounds per 36 minutes. He’s not and may never be a plus scorer, but that rebounding is excellent and his defense seems promising. You could do a whole heck of a lot worse than Vucevic as a center to build around. And he’ll be cheap for the Magic for the next couple of years as the team leverages assets for prospects and picks.

Howard admitted that he screwed up handling his situation in Orlando, saying that he tried too hard to please everybody:

Howard wound up waiving his early termination option for this season, leading some to believe that he actually was going to finish out his contract in Orlando. But the Magic decided to make a move anyway, dealing Howard to the Lakers in a four-team blockbuster.

Howard told ESPN Los Angeles Friday that Van Gundy reached out to him the previous day after Howard’s controversial statement about his former Magic teammates earned him some unkind responses. Howard told Los Angeles’ local CBS station Wednesday that his team in Orlando was “a team full of people that nobody wanted,“ but later went on to claim that he only meant it as they all were “underdogs.”

And it looks as if that retraction was enough to convince Van Gundy because he felt the need to say this to the L.A. Daily News:

“The Dwightmare is finally over,” says the sportswriter at the beginning of the track. “At least it’s almost over. Dwight Howard is back in town, with his new girlfriend the Los Angeles Lakers, but we have ONE. LAST. THING. TO SAY.”

This is such a bad idea it’s amazing Dwight didn’t come up with it himself.

Dwight Howard played well Wednesday night, the Lakers came back from 25 points down to beat the Hornets, and afterward teammates like Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash lavished praise on him for his effort on defense and setting screens to open up the L.A. offense. But of course, this is the Year of the Dwightmare, so no good night comes without controversy.

While the Lakers were playing the Hornets, Dwight’s old teammates were sounding off in response to comments from earlier this week, when he said, “My team in Orlando was a team full of people nobody wanted, and I was the leader. I led that team with a smile on my face.”

Howard’s comments about the Magic came earlier this week, when he told KCAL-TV in Los Angeles that he led an Orlando team the best he could, seemingly in defense of the ugly final season in with the Magic.

Drafted by the Magic along with Nelson in 2004, the one-time pair of friends grew apart in recent years, according to Schmitz.