ORLANDO -- Dwight Howard had no interest in verbally fueling the silly debate with Shaquille O'Neal over who really was the Superman of the NBA, but he let his two-year-old son Braylon do it for him.

Braylon was happily playing in the Magic locker room after the game Sunday, wearing his father's jersey with the Superman logo on the front.

Shaq claimed the Superman title when he first entered the league with the Magic in 1992, getting the logo tattooed on his bicep. And he often referred to himself in that regard.

Howard, who entered the league in 2004, made a splash when he took the moniker in 2007 and wore the Superman cape to win the 2007 Slam Dunk title at All-Star Weekend.

The two centers, Magic past and Magic present, have playfully, and sometimes not-so-playfully debated the issue ever since.

"It's not about me and Shaq,'' Howard said Sunday. "It's about trying to win a championship. I have a lot of respect for him.''

On Sunday, during the Magic's 101-95 victory, it was an especially physical battle between the two as they fought for position and supremacy around the basket. And surprisingly, O'Neal held his own.

At age 37, O'Neal is too slow now to physically match Howard, but he still can offset him at times. O'Neal had 20 points and five rebounds in 31 minutes. Howard, 24, had 22 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots in 43 minutes.

Like Howard, O'Neal shied away Sunday from the debate over who deserves to be called Superman. Although he hardly acknowledged Howard before the game, he went out of his way to engage him afterward with a hug and a pleasant exchange.

"I am not concerned with that (nickname controversy),'' O'Neal said. "That never really bothered me. When I'm done playing, I will have 4, 5, or 6 (NBA titles). I'm not concerned with useless titles.''

Although it clearly has bothered him in the past -- he often fuels the debate -- after Sunday's game, he was praising Howard, knowing they likely would meet again in a seven-game playoff series this spring.

"Dwight is one of the only true big men left in the game,'' O'Neal said. "He has a lot more jumping ability than I ever had. I'm sure he wants to focus on being Dwight. When I was younger, I wanted to focus on being Shaq.''

O'Neal was asked if he ever offered advice to the younger Magic center, but he shook his head no.

"Microsoft doesn't give advice to Apple,'' he said. "Maybe when I retire from Microsoft, I'll consider being a consultant for Apple, but not now.''

Source: Tim Povtak, FanHouse