Things got chippy between Los Angeles Lakers center Montrezl Harrell and Philadelphia 76ers center Dwight Howard during their showdown on Thursday night. It didn't take long for the two rugged big men to get into each others' faces. They received a technical each as a result of their first altercation that occurred a minute after the first quarter ended.

When the first-quarter buzzer sounded, Howard seemed to purposefully walk into Harrell while going into the huddle. This prompted Harrell to give Howard a push. The referees issued Howard his second technical due to his antics, kicking him out of the game, while Harrell waved him goodbye from the Lakers bench.

After the dust settled, ending in a 109-101 Sixers win, Harrell spoke about the in-game spat he had with the former Lakers center, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN:

Harrell, when asked what caused the altercation with Howard, said, “I don't know, honestly. I don't even care to be real with you. I was just playing basketball, man.”

He added, “I'm not backing down from nobody, man. I don't take that lightly. I don't take none of that disrespect. You're not gonna push me all around the court and just feel like you're gonna big-boy me and just attack me or whatever. It's not in my blood, it will never be in my blood. I don't care what nobody feels about it, I don't care who don't like me. It is what it is.”

Trez just keeping it real. Harrell has always identified himself as an underdog. Despite being undersized for his position, he doesn't care and doesn't back down from a dogfight. He plays a hundred percent on every possession and does so with a lot of heart.

Unfortunately, the result for Harrell and the Lakers wasn't what they wanted at the end of the game.