Stan Van Gundy expects to finish season

ORLANDO, Fla., April 6 (UPI) -- Orlando Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy, responding to reports that he might be fired, said he will finish the season coaching the team.

Van Gundy, who said early Thursday that center Dwight Howard had asked for him to be fired, met later in the day with Howard and General Manager Otis Smith, the Orlando Sentinel reported Friday.

"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."

Howard declined to comment on the meeting or his relationship with the coach.

"I don't want to talk about it," Howard said prior to Thursday's 96-80 loss to the New York Knicks -- Orlando's fifth straight defeat. "It has nothing to do with the game tonight."

The Magic have 11 games remaining in their regular season.