Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard will not play in Thursday's game against the Utah Jazz due to lower back tightness.
Howard left shootaround in the morning to get his back stretched, with the team announcing he would be a game-time decision shortly afterward.
Back injuries have become a recurring problem for Howard, who missed half of the 2014-15 season on account of his balky back.
The 12-year veteran played a season-high 41 minutes in Houston's 93-91 win over the Jazz on Monday, the first half of the home-and-home series. In the Rockets' previous three games, he logged 37, 35, and 38 minutes respectively - a direct result of the Rockets being without fellow big man Donatas Motiejunas.
With Lawson suspension, if Howard (game-time decision with lower back tightness) is out, Rockets will have nine players available vs. Jazz.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) January 7, 2016