20 Apr 2012

Howard out of NBA and probably Olympics

6:52 pm on 20 April 2012

Dwight Howard will undergo surgery for a bad back, ending his NBA basketball season with the Orlando Magic and likely eliminating him from playing for the USA at the London Olympics.

Howard's agent Dan Fegan told ESPN the centre will have surgery to fix a herniated disk on Friday in Los Angeles.

Howard has been struggling with a back problem for the past month and received an epidural to lessen the pain in March.

The club said at the time he would miss about two weeks but then learned the injury was more serious than first thought.

Meanwhile, LeBron James finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and Dwyane Wade scored 18 points as the Miami Heat defeated Chicago 83-72 at home.