Everywhere he looked Wednesday night, Dwight Howard saw people who desperately want him to join the Brooklyn-bound New Jersey Nets.

He saw the fans in Section 22 of Prudential Center who clutched oversized pictures of his face. He watched kids waive signs asking him to join the franchise. And he caught a glimpse of rapper Jay-Z, a part-owner of the Nets, sitting courtside.

“I just had fun with it,” Howard said afterward. “It’s a humbling experience. I wish more people could see how it feels to go into another arena and have big faces [of themselves] and posters. It’s a humbling experience. It’s a blessing.”

Howard sounded moved, but he and his teammates showed the Nets and their fans no mercy. The Orlando Magic dominated the Nets early and played them about even the rest of the way to win 108-91.

via Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel