Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard hug it out in Houston

REPORTING FROM HOUSTON —  Another stop on the Kobe Bryant farewell tour ended with a happy face, this one surprisingly.

Bryant hugged and exchanged brief pleasantries with teammate-turned-rival Dwight Howard after the Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets, 126-97.

It was odd, even unexpected, but it happened Saturday night.

Bryant always thought Howard was too happy-go-lucky when they spent a highly underwhelming season together in 2012-13. Howard thought Bryant needed to settle down — they were each making millions upon millions to play a game, so why not have fun?

They didn’t hate each other like Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Their relationship was better described as . . . uncomfortable.

Bryant acknowledged Saturday that his attempts to motivate Howard weren’t necessarily friendly. But he said it wasn’t personal.

“I don’t take much crap on the court. I’m always going to be confrontational, even with my friends,” Bryant said. “My responsibility when Dwight and I played together . . . involves sometimes pushing buttons when guys don’t appreciate it at the time. As a leader, that’s your job and that’s your responsibility.”

Before the game, the ex-teammate Bryant shared a long embrace with Rockets forward Trevor Ariza. Bryant and Howard had a quick hug, but only after Howard approached and stuck out his hand.

When Bryant went public with his retirement two weeks ago, Howard initially spoke glowingly.

“He had an amazing career,” Howard told the Houston Chronicle. “He paved the way for so many players coming out of high school. His work ethic, everything he stands for on the court, has been great.”

But Howard laughed when asked what he learned from Bryant in that one hopeless Lakers season.

“Oh, man,” Howard said. “Can we go on to the next question?”

Lakers Coach Byron Scott wasn’t with the team when Howard and Bryant were together. But he’s definitely heard things.

“They’ve got history. Obviously, it’s not something that’s very pleasant,” Scott said before Saturday’s game.

But then Scott remembered the new, agreeable Bryant.

“The one thing that I’ve seen in KB over this past two or three weeks is that he is just much more mellow and much more at ease,” Scott said. “Maybe they’ll hug each other and say, ‘Hey, let’s let bygones be bygones,’ and go on about their separate ways.”

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