Dwight Howard was assessed a rare delay of game violation because he took longer than 10 seconds to shoot a free throw against the Celtics on Saturday afternoon.

The NBA had warned the center about his deliberate pace at the free throw line previously.

Howard was called for the violation as he lined up to attempt his second of two free throws with 6:49 remaining in the second quarter.

He was then assessed a technical foul after he rolled the ball toward the baseline in what was viewed as a protest of the call.

"I can see if I was shooting 98 percent from the line," Howard said. "But I'm not. It's not stopping the game flow. It's a free throw. So the clock is stopped, period. I'm going to continue to do it."

Howard is shooting 55.6% from the foul line this season.