Rockets' Bickerstaff rips officials in defense of Howard

Houston Rockets interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was positively irate following Saturday's 123-122 loss to the Washington Wizards.

Not only did Jared Dudley get away with (and later gleefully admit to) a foul on what would have been James Harden's game-winning layup at the buzzer, Bickerstaff saw his star center Dwight Howard get ejected for a second-straight game.

"It's not fair the way the referees ref Dwight," Bickerstaff told ESPN's Calvin Watkins. "You can go back and look at clip after clip after clip. They initiate contact with him, they grab him, they hold him. Dwight gets punished more than anybody in the league.

"This crew is no exception. They didn't protect Dwight. They allowed people to hit him. They allowed people to grab his neck, grab his arms and hold his shoulders. He's going to get hurt, plain and simple. The reason why he has the back problems and knee problems is because people jump on his back and grab on his shoulders."

Watkins reports that Howard, who battled with Wizards center Nene for most of the game, had his shoulder popped out three times, which Bickerstaff described as "dirty, not physical" plays.

Howard agreed with his head coach's scathing remarks.

"I can see just being physical, wrestling in the paint, that's one thing, but doing armbars - this is basketball, this is not UFC. Stuff like that can cause players to get injured," Howard said.

Being one of the most physically imposing players in the league, Howard has long bickered about a double standard when it comes to fouls. He's endured over a decade of physical abuse, and as Bickerstaff alluded to, it's no great surprise that Howard now suffers from back and knee issues.

Howard leads the league with 12 technicals, owing mostly to complaints and retaliations.