Sun May 4 02:21:24 2008

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Orlando's Howard has bruised thumb

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Auburn Hills, MI (Sports Network) - Orlando Magic forward Dwight Howard suffered a bruised left thumb in Saturday's 91-72 loss to Detroit in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Howard had 12 points and eight rebounds, but by the end of the game was on the bench with the injury. Howard's hand was heavily wrapped in a bandage. He hurt the thumb going for a rebound in the final minute of the third quarter. After the game, Howard said his thumb was bruised, but that he would be okay for Game 2 Monday night.

"I'm not tired. I got a lot of energy," Howard said. "The main thing is I got to play through it. I was expecting them to send four, five guys at me tonight and I just have to play through it. They're a very physical team and they're going to try to impose their will on us. We have to come back out Monday and the rest of the series with a better effort."