Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard missed his first game of the season on Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets because of a stomach bug.

Fortunately, Howard returned to Lakers practice on Wednesday and will play on Thursday versus the Houston Rockets.

Without Howard, the Lakers fell to the Nets by a final score of 104-102 at home. Superstar Anthony Davis missed the potential game-winning 3 at the buzzer right in front of the Nets' bench.

There’s a lot of star power on the Lakers, with four-time MVP and three-time NBA champion LeBron James and Davis leading the way, and Howard coming off the bench. Thus far, first-year head coach Frank Vogel has done a good job of managing everyone and keeping the team afloat during the whole emotional Kobe Bryant month.

Howard is taking his second chance with the Lakers very seriously after his first run in LA was a disaster. Dwight hasn’t been a distraction, on or off the court, and is playing high-level defense pretty much every single minute he's out there on the court.

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No longer a superstar in the league, Howard is coming off the bench for the Lakers, but is playing his role very well. He is averaging 7.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks for the Purple and Gold in 19.2 minutes per game. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year is shooting 73.2 percent from the field and 49.4 percent from the free-throw line.

With Howard, Davis and JaVale McGee anchoring the paint for LA, the Lakers are primed to have one of the best defenses in the NBA come playoff time. LA is 49-14 on the season, which is the best record in the Western Conference. Fans can't wait to see the Lakers back in the playoffs after the postseason drought which they went through.

The Lakers will look to snap their one-game losing streak against a struggling Rockets team which doesn't have any big men on the team to defend Davis or Howard.