Dwight Howard's latest technical foul has been upheld by the NBA after a review, leaving Orlando's center one away from another suspension, according to an ESPN.com report on Wednesday.

Howard was called for his league-leading 17th technical Monday with 1:17 left in the Magic's loss at New York.

Dwight Howard must strike a balance between being Orlando's enforcer and also avoid accruing technical fouls or flagrants.

Howard made a vow in the preseason to stop being "Mr. Nice Guy" yet still be true to his nature.

"I'm still the same person," Howard said. "I just know when to turn it on and turn it off. One thing my teammates said at the beginning of the year is, they don’t want me to just be this mean guy because they look forward to me coming in the locker room and just having a pretty good time. And I know when it's time to get serious. They don’t want me to change who I am for other people.  

"Other people I guess wanted to see me get more serious, but I've never played around with basketball," Howard said. "But I just know that fans come to the games to be entertained. I'm not a UFC fighter. I don’t have to go out there and growl every two minutes to show my team. I just have fun and that's what it's all about."  

It wouldn’t be shocking at all if the New York Knicks make a play for Dwight Howard next season, perhaps offering either Amare Stoudemire or Carmelo Anthony at trade deadline.

Howard can become a free agent after the 11-12 season, and the Magic will be nervously waiting for the NBA’s most dominant big man to make a decision.

If they don’t want to wait and risk losing him without compensation, the Magic could listen to trade offers for Howard next season. 

Jameer Nelson's MRI on his injured left knee revealed no structural damage, a team spokesman said.

Nelson was injured in Friday's win over New Jersey.

Hedo Turkoglu has been up and down since returning to Orlando via a mid-December trade.

He has been on a roll of late. But there have been bad shooting nights, poor shot selection and high turnover rates — nights that mystify the Magic.

“He’s sometimes his own worst enemy, trying to predetermine what he’s going to do and not taking in what the defense gives him,” coach Stan Van Gundy said after Turk posted 20 points and 13 assists against the Nets in Friday night’s win. "He’s a very skilled guy. And when he’s playing under control and relaxed, he’s a very tough guy to guard.”

The Magic used the 11th overall pick in the 2005 draft to select Fran Vázquez, but he ultimately decided to remain in Europe for a variety of reasons. For almost six years, the Magic have attempted to convince Vázquez to leave Europe and make the jump to the NBA.

But just when it appears that the 6-foot-10 big man is receptive to joining the Magic, a possibly daunting hurdle looms. The potential of a prolonged work stoppage after the current season might prevent the long-awaited union between Vázquez and the Magic, at least for the 11-12 season.

The Magic hypothetically could sign Vázquez after the current season ends and before the current collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of June 30. He would then receive the rookie scale salary for the year he is signed instead of the rookie scale agreed upon in the next CBA.

"In an ideal situation, we'd like to sign him," said Otis Smith. "But with the CBA, it's not in his best interest to sign a contract if there is a work stoppage. Then he misses an opportunity to play and make money, at least for a while. That's the rub."

Dwight Howard can test free-agency in the summer of 2012 if he so chooses.

Right now towards the end of the 2010-11 regular season, Howard is choosing not to talk about his future.

“I’m not focused on that. I have a whole other season before I can decide what I want to do so there’s no need for me to be talking about it right now," Howard said.

"It has nothing to do with my team right now, and I think the more and more you talk about it it’s not fun. It’s not fun for me, it’s not fun for my teammates and it’s not fun for our fans in Orlando, who have to hear about what my decision is going to be in two years.”

Howard is scheduled to earn $18.1 million next season. His contract contains a player option worth $19.5 million for the 2012-13 season.

The Orlando Magic will grow beards until the playoff ends.

"We talked about doing something as a team," center Dwight Howard said.

"We thought about the bald heads, but some of us — myself — don't look right with a bald head. Then we thought about letting our hair grow out; then [we realized] we've got a lot of guys who are going bald, so [it would] look funny with just patches in their head.

"So the beard is the only way to go. It'll be tough for me and the young guys to really get it going, but we're all in this together."

"It's one of those team things," Quentin Richardson said. "Togetherness. It's something fun at the same time. It's going to definitely look funny, I know."

While Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has lost interest in becoming a coach, he wishes he could have had a chance to give instruction to Dwight Howard.

"I think I could have shown him a few things that would have helped his game a lot," said Abdul-Jabbar. "Such an incredible athlete. There are a few blind spots in his game just because he didn't stay in school long enough to get all of that down, but just really an incredible athlete."

Abdul-Jabbar also talked about his desire to coach.

"That starts to wane now," said Abdul-Jabbar. "I'm 63. I'll be 64 next month. I haven't gotten an opportunity at this point. I'd hoped that maybe I could have gotten into a college program, but it wasn't there for me. The opportunities that I’m getting now as a filmmaker are appealing, and I intend to pursue those."

Abdul-Jabbar worked with Andrew Bynum for several seasons.

The Nuggets, showcasing some inspired defense, are not just good on the road, they're making history. With their dominating victory at Atlanta on Wednesday night, the Nuggets did something they had never done — win three consecutive road games, each by 10 or more points, each against a team with a winning record.

Now these "road warriors" face their real test: a game tonight at Orlando, followed by a back-to-back game Saturday at Miami to complete a four-game road trip.

"We talked about not having any fear, but having the respect that we're still a team trying to figure out what we're going to do," said Nuggets coach George Karl, whose team is 9-2 since the big trade. "Play hard and play together are the keys. It's not the strategies."

The Nuggets have been blessed with depth with the acquisition of "Knuggets" Raymond Felton and Wilson Chandler — and the third member of that trio, Danilo Gallinari, could play tonight for the first time since Feb. 25. That was the night Gallinari scored 30 points at Portland but also fractured the big toe on his left foot.

Karl said, "I think he'll play." The coach also noted, however, that Gallinari has seemed tentative in some workouts. Karl said if Gallinari does play, it'll be for about 20 minutes off the bench.