Howard suffers 'super painful' quad contusion vs. Heat

The Atlanta Hawks lost center Dwight Howard for the final quarter of Tuesday night's game against the Miami Heat, and possibly for longer.

Howard suffered a left quad contusion in the third quarter, and did not return. In 25 minutes before departing, he scored 11 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Without him, the Hawks held on and sweated out a 93-90 win.

Howard called the injury "super painful" afterward, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Chris Vivalmore. He will be re-evaluated Wednesday, coach Mike Budenholzer said.

The 30-year-old has been enjoying a nice resurgence in his first season with the Hawks after a bitter final campaign with the Houston Rockets. Through nine games ahead of Tuesday's tilt, Howard was averaging 15.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.9 blocks, while shooting a league-best 63 percent from the field.