Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he expects to finish the season as the team’s coach.  Van Gundy’s remarks came one day after he told the media that superstar center Dwight Howard asked team management to fire him.  Read more after the jump.
Howard denied the accusation and then had one of his worst efforts of the season with eight points and eight rebounds as Orlando lost at home to the New York Knicks 96-80 for its fifth consecutive defeat.
Van Gundy said that he met with Howard and team general manager Otis Smith on Thursday.
“Look, we’ve been together all year this year,†Van Gundy said. “We’ve been together for five years. So we know each other very well, and Dwight will go out and play, and I’ll coach, and that’s the understanding. We know that.â€
Howard declined comment on the meeting with Van Gundy and Smith.
“I don’t want to talk about it,†Howard said. “It has nothing to do with the game tonight.â€
The Magic suffered their longest losing streak since January 2007 to fall into a tie with Atlanta for fifth place in the Easten Conference with 11 games to go.
Howard, who had missed the previous two games due to injury, is averaging 20.6 points and a league-high 14.4 rebounds.
