Dwight Howard allowed an opposing fan to get under his skin on Wednesday night, and it may have contributed to the Houston Rockets’ loss against the Dallas Mavericks. Howard was fouled by Jose Calderon with just under three minutes remaining in the game. The ball wound up back in Dwight’s hands, and a Mavericks fan who was sitting courtside appeared to yell something at him. Howard then turned around and tossed the ball in the fan’s direction.

It was a gentle toss, but throwing the ball into the stands is an automatic technical foul. The stunt accomplished nothing aside from Howard having the ball swatted back at him by the fan, who didn’t seem sorry. The Rockets were leading 116-111 at the time of the technical. They went on to lose 123-120.

After the game, Dallas swingman Vince Carter revealed that he called Howard a “crybaby” in the second quarter when Howard was complaining to an official.

“(He complains to officials) all the time,” Carter said, via ESPNDallas.com. “He always talks about how I’m a crybaby. I was like, ‘Yo, you’re the biggest crybaby I know.’ And then later, he’s like, ‘Yo, why’d you say that to me?’ But I know Dwight. It’s all good, but he is [a crybaby].

“I mean, he takes a lot of punishment, but I’m like, ‘Yo, c’mon Dwight, c’mon. You elbowed, you’re sitting in the paint the entire time. What are you whining about?’ He told me to stop crying. I was like, ‘What? Are you serious?’”

Howard finished the game with a season-high 33 points, but Houston failed to pick up its fourth-straight win. Considering the Mavericks were one of the teams Howard flirted with during free agency (remember Mark Cuban’s take on the subject?), he should expect to hear it from the fans in Dallas. He has to learn to tune that stuff out completely.

Video via SLAM Online