NBA ROUNDUP : Rodman Ends O’Neal’s Magic

Dennis Rodman hasn’t met an offensive force he didn’t think he could stop. That includes Shaquille O’Neal.

Rodman held O’Neal without a field goal in the final 15 minutes Saturday night, helping the Detroit Pistons rally for a 98-97 victory at Orlando.

“I love to play against guys who are supposed to be great players,” Rodman said Saturday night.

O’Neal finished with 29 points and 16 rebounds but was held to three free throws after Rodman began guarding him with 3:08 left in the third quarter. The rookie center attempted only one shot and scored one point during the last quarter.

“(O’Neal) is really something, but so is Dennis,” Piston Coach Ron Rothstein said. “He came over and said: ‘Somebody play him.’ So I said, ‘OK, you play him.’ ”

Sacramento 154, Philadelphia 98--Rookie Walt Williams scored a season-high 40 points at Sacramento as the Kings scored their second consecutive victory by more than 50 points.

The Kings, who won their fifth consecutive game after an eight-game losing streak, have won their last two games by a total of 114 points. Sacramento defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 139-81, Tuesday night, the largest margin of victory in franchise history.

Mitch Richmond added 18 points and Lionel Simmons 17 for Sacramento, which outscored Philadelphia, 38-17, during the second quarter and led, 74-46, at halftime.

It was the most points scored by the Kings in one half since the franchise moved to Sacramento eight seasons ago.

Clarence Weatherspoon paced Philadelphia with 20 points.

Sacramento used a 21-5 run midway through second quarter to expand a seven-point margin to 51-34 on Wayman Tisdale’s short jumper with 6:03 remaining in the first half.

The teams then exchanged baskets before Sacramento scored 11 consecutive points in a span of 1:36 to take a 66-41 lead on Richmond’s layup with 1:57 left in the quarter.

Charlotte 118, New Jersey 117--Kendall Gill’s 14-foot jumper with four seconds remaining at Charlotte gave the Hornets a comeback victory.

Derrick Coleman put the Nets ahead, 117-115, with 1:20 to play, but they didn’t score again. Alonzo Mourning made one of two free throws with 54 seconds left to pull the Hornets to within 117-116 before Gill’s shot.

Larry Johnson, who had 32 points, said the victory was particularly important because New Jersey is one of the teams Charlotte is competing with for its first playoff spot. The Hornets are the seventh-place team in the East at 15-13.

“The goal this year is to make it to the playoffs,” Johnson said. “Every game from here on out is a must-win, especially here at home if we’re going to accomplish that goal.”

Utah 110, Portland 102--Karl Malone had 29 points and 13 rebounds, and the Jazz survived Portland’s 21-6 second-half run at Portland for their fifth consecutive victory.

Malone had 16 points during the first half as the Jazz took a 63-49 lead, then scored 11 more during the final quarter.

Kevin Duckworth had 27 points for Portland, while Jeff Malone scored 21 points for the Jazz.

Seattle 108, Denver 104--Nate McMillan stole Todd Lichti’s inbounds pass with three seconds remaining and scored a layup at the buzzer at Seattle as the SuperSonics handed the Nuggets their 13th consecutive loss.

The SuperSonics improved their home record to an NBA-best 14-1.

Chicago 109, Indiana 100--Michael Jordan had 39 points and Scottie Pippen scored 18 of his 22 during the second half at Chicago for the Bulls’ seventh consecutive victory. It was the season-worst sixth consecutive loss for the Pacers.

Reggie Miller scored 21 points and Detlef Schrempf added 16.

Milwaukee 106, Atlanta 93--Blue Edwards scored 31 points at Atlanta as the Bucks ended an eight-game road losing streak and escaped the cellar of the Central Division, trading places with the Hawks.

Eric Murdock had 24 points and Danny Schayes a season-high 16 as the Bucks handed the Hawks their sixth consecutive loss at home and fifth loss in a row since Dominique Wilkins suffered a broken finger.

Golden State 113, Houston 107--Tim Hardaway had 27 points and 13 assists, and the Warriors shook off a 10-0 run by the Rockets during the fourth quarter at Oakland for their fifth consecutive victory.

The Warriors also won for the 10th time in 12 games while handing the Rockets their fifth loss in six games, including consecutive defeats to Golden State, which beat them in Houston on Wednesday night.

Hakeem Olajuwon had 21 points and 13 rebounds for Houston despite sitting out much of the fourth quarter with five fouls.

Minnesota 103, Dallas 71--Christian Laettner scored 26 points at Minneapolis as the Timberwolves established a franchise-low for points given up.

In its last 14 games, Minnesota is 2-12, with both victories coming over Dallas. In losing their eighth consecutive game and 23rd in 25 this season, the Mavericks had their lowest scoring in three seasons.

Washington 100, Miami 93--Rex Chapman keyed a third-quarter rally by scoring nine of his 14 points at Landover, Md.

The Bullets, who had lost 10 of their previous 11 games, trailed, 57-52, early in the second half before an 11-4 run put them ahead to stay. The loss was the 11th in 13 road games for Miami.

Harvey Grant, Pervis Ellison and Michael Adams each scored 16 points for the Bullets. Glen Rice had 19 points for Miami.