Dwight Howard: Playoff exit a "tough pill to swallow"

Dwight Howard has said that being knocked out of the playoffs is a "tough pill to swallow" for the Houston Rockets.

The team needed to beat the Portland Trail Blazers last night to keep their first-round series alive, but a last-gasp shot from Damian Lillard gave their opponents a 99-98 win.

The center told reporters: "It hurts. When you put everything you've got on the floor and somebody hits you with a dagger like that, it's a tough pill to swallow."

The Rockets have progressed past the first round of the playoffs just once in the last 17 seasons.