The Sixers found out something last night that everybody else who follow sports already knows.

The rules apparently are different for superstars. The Sixers lost to the Orlando Magic to fall behind 3-2, one game away from elimination.

That’s enough to bum out the Sixers and their fans, but that’s not what’s sticking in their craw this morning as they try to figure out a way to win Thursday at home and push this series to a deciding Game 7.

Sixers coach Tony DiLeo clearly thinks Magic star Dwight Howard is getting the “star treatment” from the refs. He moaned after the game about how Howard camps out in the lane, and manages to avoid being called for a 3-second violation. He’s not the first to make such a claim; he won’t be the last.

But there’s another situation that might actually warrant another look by the league.

In the first quarter, Howard tangled with Sixers center Sam Dalembert in going for a rebound. In the process it appeared the Magic man threw an elbow. He was called for a technical foul on the play.

The NBA rules seem pretty clear that such a foul is supposed to be accompanied by the ejection of the offending player. Howard was not. Now DiLeo is literally crying foul.

You think there’s a chance Howard could be suspended for Game Six? Sure, about the same chance he had of being tossed out of that game on the Magic’s floor last night.