Rockets’ Dwight Howard caught using stickum: ‘I do it every game’

Stickum: Not just for cheating in the NFL.

On Saturday night Houston Rockets big man Dwight Howard was caught using stickum during a game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Howard apparently applied the sticky substance from a spray can covered in athletic tape and grabbed the ball before a free-throw attempt by Paul Millsap during the first quarter.

Millsap immediately recognized the ball felt different and alerted officials, who then warned both benches that stickum is illegal in the NBA, and replaced the ball.

“I’ve never felt the ball like that ever,” Millsap said according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “It was sticky. It was like super glue or something was on there. I couldn’t get it off my hands. It was the weirdest thing ever.”

Howard, as he often does, laughed about the incident and brushed off the stickiness of the situation.

“I don’t know why people are making a big deal out of it,” Howard told the Houston Chronicle. “I do it every game. It’s not a big deal. I ain’t tripping.”

The incident is under review by the NBA, a league representative told the Associated Press after the game.

Follow Matt Wilhalme on Twitter @mattwilhalme