Howard hit with one-game ban to open next season

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Dwight Howard #12 of the Houston Rockets dunks against the Los Angeles Clippers in the second quarter during Game Seven of the Western Conference Semifinals at the Toyota Center for the 2015 NBA Playoffs on May 17, 2015 in Houston, Texas (AFP Photo/Scott Halleran)

Houston (AFP) - Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard was suspended for one game by the NBA on Friday for accumulated flagrant fouls in the playoffs, but he won't serve the ban until next season.

A review by the league office upgraded a foul he committed on Golden State guard Andre Iguodala in a loss Wednesday from a common foul to a flagrant foul, the move involving unnecessary contact with his forearm to the neck of his rival with 3:35 to play in the fourth quarter of a 104-90 defeat that ousted the Rockets from the NBA playoffs.