NBA ROUNDUP : Rodman Puts Spice in Spurs

When green-haired Dennis Rodman roared up to San Antonio’s Alamodome in his white Jeep, a few dozen waiting fans cheered. When he stepped onto the basketball court, a few thousand admirers did the same.

The controversial forward stole the show Monday night as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Washington Bullets, 122-101. Rodman played in his first regular-season game after two suspensions and a leave of absence.

“I add spice, so people like to see somebody different,” Rodman said before the game. “They should love it. They should feed off it.”

They did.

Rodman, with five rebounds and six points in 27 minutes, didn’t approach his 17.3 league-leading rebounding average of last season. But he got a standing ovation from many fans when he entered the game late in the first period. And he dazzled the crowd with a dunk in the second quarter and behind-the-back pass in the fourth. He also committed five turnovers.

David Robinson led the Spurs with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Rodman brushed off questions about whether he could follow team rules.

“There’s no guidelines for Dennis Rodman. Period. I will do what I’m going to do, and that’s to help this team be successful this year,” he said.

New Jersey 128, Orlando 101--The Nets ended an eight-game losing streak against the Magic by making 61% of their shots in the first three quarters at East Rutherford, N.J.

Orlando came in with a league-best 15-3 record and a four-game winning streak, but made only 26.1% of its free throws, fourth-lowest in an NBA game.

Phoenix 90, Golden State 84--Charles Barkley had 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to lead the Suns at Phoenix.

Utah 101, Portland 89--Karl Malone scored 27 points at Salt Lake City to help the Jazz end a three-game losing streak.

Miami 122, New York 111--Glen Rice scored a season-high 38 points to lead the Heat at New York.

Boston 113, Denver 103--Pervis Ellison, sidelined all season while recovering from knee surgery, scored 19 points at Boston in his Celtic debut.

NBA Notes

Boston Coach Chris Ford will undergo colon surgery and is not expected back on the Celtics’ bench for three weeks. . . . Jay Humphries of the Utah Jazz was fined $3,500 by the NBA for throwing an elbow at San Antonio’s Vinny Del Negro on Dec. 8.

Isaiah Rider of the Minnesota Timberwolves, blasted by Coach Bill Blair after scoring only three points Saturday night against Phoenix, said it’s his coach who needs to understand about maturity. Frustrated by Rider’s inconsistency and on-court antics, Blair said Saturday that Rider has “got to grow up.”