From pals to foes

Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles

Who: Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard

Rockets spoil Lakers' opener in 108-90 rout

Los Angeles Lakers spoiled its season opener, but the 108-90 defeat to the Houston Rockets was eclipsed by the drama when two of the most watched stars on court got into a tussle.

The Rockets' dominance seemed to upset Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant who vented his long-simmering frustration when fighting for the ball with ex-teammate Dwight Howard.

A verbal spat started in the fourth quarter after Howard grabbed a rebound, seeking an outlet pass. Bryant pressured him and prompted the Rockets big man to swing elbows, one of which appeared to touch Bryant's chin.

Sources blurted out on Twitter that Bryant called Howard "soft".

The dramatic scene showed the duo's stardom in China as Bryant immediately became one of the trending phrases on Sina Weibo, China's popular microblogging service, with 20,480 searches for him within two hours after the match ended.

The duo's history as teammates emerged as it's believed they had lockers room issues. Lakers manager-coach Byron Scott didn't even try to cover for them, saying "they don't like each other, simple as that".

They "have completely different personality types," ESPN basketball analyst Tim Legler said. Kobe Bryant is "business-like and all about commitment to winning" but Howard "didn't want to deal with that", Legler added.

After leaving the Lakers, Howard signed with the Rockets as a free agent in 2013.