NBA ROUNDUP : Rebounds? Seikaly Has 34 for Heat

The Miami Heat’s Rony Seikaly had rebounding on his mind before, during and after Wednesday night’s game against the Washington Bullets.

Before the game he predicted he would get 20. During the game he grabbed an NBA-season high 34, four more than the entire Washington team, as the Heat defeated the Bullets, 125-106, at Miami.

After the game Seikaly said, “I felt like a man possessed.”

His rebound total was the most in a regulation NBA game since Charles Oakley had 35 for the Chicago Bulls in 1988. The NBA record of 55 was set by Wilt Chamberlain in 1960.

Seikaly, whose previous career high was 24 rebounds, took advantage of the absence of Washington center Pervis Ellison, who sprained a ligament in his left knee in the team’s previous game.

But, he said, Ellison’s presence wouldn’t have mattered.

“I was in such a mind-set that King Kong could have been in there and I still would have gotten a lot of rebounds,” Seikaly said. “It was in my mind the whole day, since I woke up and, before the game, I told everybody that I would get 20 rebounds.

The previous rebounding high this season was 27 by Detroit’s Dennis Rodman.

The Heat tied a franchise record with their fourth consecutive victory.

Phoenix 125, Philadelphia 115--Charles Barkley, playing against his former team for the first time since being traded last June, scored 18 of his 36 points in the first quarter at Phoenix.

Barkley, who also had 17 rebounds and nine assists, scored only 11 points in the second half, when the 76ers closed within seven points.

The loss was the fifth in a row on the road for the 76ers.

Utah 106, Detroit 98--Karl Malone scored 38 points and the Jazz ended a five-game losing streak with a victory at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Isiah Thomas had a season-high 40 points for the Pistons.

The Jazz led, 89-73, with 8:50 to play, but Detroit scored the next 10 points, capped by Thomas’ three-pointer with 5:48 left.

Jeff Malone scored 22 points and Dennis Rodman had 10 points and 21 rebounds for Detroit.

Chicago 125, Dallas 97--Scottie Pippen scored 24 points and Horace Grant 21 as the Bulls won easily at Chicago, despite the absence of Michael Jordan, who was nursing a sore right ankle.

It was the Bulls’ first victory in the last six games they have played without Jordan.

The Mavericks tied a franchise record with their 26th consecutive road loss. They are 0-26 on the road and 4-50 overall, with 12 consecutive losses.

The victory was the Bulls’ seventh in a row, matching their longest streak of the season.

Boston 132, San Antonio 91--Sherman Douglas had 23 points and 12 assists as the Celtics won at Boston.

It was the biggest margin of victory for the Celtics since they won by 42 over Orlando in January of 1991, and the worst loss for San Antonio since a 46-point loss at Phoenix in April of 1989.

Robert Parish had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who shot 59%. Reggie Lewis, Boston’s top scorer this season, missed the game because of a lower back strain.

J.R. Reid led the Spurs with 19 points. David Robinson was held to 13 points and eight rebounds.

Houston 89, Sacramento 86--Hakeem Olajuwon had 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Rockets to their eighth consecutive victory.

The loss was Sacramento’s fourth in a row at home. Walt Williams finished with 18 points for the Kings, who wound up with their lowest point total of the season.