Dwight Howard loses shooting contest to Kings mascot Bailey, brings shame to LA Lakers
Everything is coming up Los Angeles Kings.
First, the Kings take social media to a whole different realm. Then they won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. Following that, there was a parade in L.A., in which the number of Kings fans seemed to exponentially increase overnight.
To try and withstand all of this momentum coming from the city's hockey team, the Los Angeles Lakers went out and acquired Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to fight for another NBA title. On Tuesday, in an epic battle between man and lion, the Kings added another notch to their belt and continued their year of domination.
[Related: Is Dwight Howard even trying with free throws?]
Bailey, the Kings mascot, showed up at the Lakers practice center along with the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy ahead of Sunday's MLS Cup Final, which features the defending champion Los Angeles Galaxy against the Houston Dynamo.
After practice, Bailey challenged Howard to a free-throw shooting contest on a side hoop.
He won. But the competition didn't stop there.
From Dave McMenamin of ESPN LA via (ugh) Sulia:
Dwight said it didn't count unless it was on the main court. So Bailey beat him at free throws on the main court. Then Dwight moved the contest out to the NBA 3-point line. They shot 3s from the corner and Bailey, a man standing about 5-10 wearing a lion costume, beat Howard, a man standing 6-9 and wearing his basketball practice uniform and sneakers as the first person to make five 3s.
Here's video proof:
Howard claimed he wasn't trying because "you have to lose to win" to help Bailey feel better about himself.
Rings help self-esteem, Dwight; you know?
[Related: Dwight Howard talks turkey on Lakers team plane]
The Lakers would go on and lose to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night, 79-77. Howard chipped in 17 points, but continued his free-throw struggles going 3 for 12 from the line, lowering his season percentage to .478. It was his worst performance from the stripe since opening night.
It's pretty evident that Bailey was in his head. Even the Laker bros were impressed by Bailey's performance.
Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy
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