Dwight Howard did not play when the Orlando Magic hosted the Detroit Pistons on Monday night and is considered doubtful to play against the Washington Wizards tonight in Washington.
Howard aggravated his back and suffered from back spasms as he scored 20 points, grabbed 22 rebounds and dished out a season-high six assists in a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
"I've never seen him in that much pain on a gameday, off day, anything," point guard Jameer Nelson said. "It was tough to see, but it was actually one of those things that was inspiring."
The Magic will attempt to proceed cautiously with Howard in the days ahead, although the team hasn't Howard out to face the Wizards. Orlando cannot allow the back injury to linger; the team already is scheduled to have Wednesday off, and Stan Van Gundy said Howard will sit out practice Thursday in order to rest his back. Van Gundy said "there's optimism" that Howard will be able to play when the Magic host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
"The good part of it is it's just what they call 'soft-tissue' stuff," Van Gundy said. "He doesn't have a bulging disk or a herniated disk or any structural stuff. So that's the positive part of it."
Howard has missed three games this season because of the back spasms.
Duhon suspended
Backup point guard Chris Duhon did not attend the game against the Pistons because he was suspended for one game for conduct detrimental to the team, a Magic spokesman said.
"Chris had some personal issues that came up and he had to take care of that," said Duhon's agent, Kevin Bradbury. "But he's got everything on the right track now."
Duhon missed the Magic's shootaround Monday, according to two sources who were not authorized to discuss the situation.
Anderson returns
The Magic received some welcome news on the injury front Monday.
Ryan Anderson returned to the starting lineup after he missed three consecutive games with a sprained right ankle.
There was still some swelling in the ankle, and Anderson even left Amway Center after the morning shootaround with his ankle wrapped. Still, he didn't sound concerned that he would aggravate the injury.
"It was sprained in a really good place, so I'm not worried too much about [it]," Anderson said. "Obviously, we have a great training staff that know what they're doing. So they wouldn't put me on the court if they thought I was in danger of doing something worse or possibly spraining it worse."
Handoff helper
J.J. Redick sank seven jumpers in the win over Philly, with six of those jumpers coming directly off screens set by Howard. A dribble handoff play in which Howard screened Philly's shooting guard was particularly effective.
Redick sought out Davis on Monday to find a way to replicate that success.
"Glen's a great screener," Redick said. "I talked to him today in shootaround just about how I like to have that play run. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to run it tonight."
Florida focused
Van Gundy reiterated that he wants to return to the Magic next season.
"I love my family, and I'm not sure they'd be willing to move with me," he said. "They love it here. They really do. They love Central Florida. They love where we're living. We want to stay right here. I don't know that that matters or that that's even relevant at this point, but, yes, I want to be here."
Layups
• Hedo Turkoglu, who underwent surgery Saturday to repair a facial fracture, briefly visited the team's practice facility at Amway Center on Monday.
• Quentin Richardson was activated after he was inactive for two games because of a sore back. Richardson entered the game midway through the first quarter
• Davis had recorded a double-double with 9:31 remaining in the second quarter. He had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
jbrobbins@tribune.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog. Subscribe to our Orlando Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.
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