Despite reports that Dwight Howard was cursed out by Gregg Popovich during the All-Star Game, the Los Angeles Lakers' center was adamant that the perceived incident "just never happened."

"Pop was diagramming a play for me, and then as he showed us what to do he kept saying, 'Blake,'" Howard said Friday. "So Blake and I are confused, but he keeps saying Blake, so Blake takes off his jersey and goes into the game.

"Pop sees me and wants to know why I'm not in the game running the play, so I tell him he kept saying Blake so Blake went in. He wasn't swearing at me."

The reports piled onto the notion that Howard is not as intense as he should be.

"It hurts me, but what can I do about it?" said Howard, who has averaged 19 points and 12.6 rebounds the last five games. "I can't fight ESPN."