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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
DALLAS (AP) -- The second-biggest crowd the Dallas Mavericks have ever drawn came mostly to see Dennis Rodman's return to the NBA. The few exceptions were rooting for Rashard Lewis.
|  | | Seattle's Ruben Patterson stayed down after charging into Dennis Rodman. |
Lewis made his backers the happiest by setting career-highs with
30 points and 12 rebounds, leading Seattle past Dallas 117-106
Wednesday night.
When it ended, Rodman celebrated his 13 rebounds in 32 solid
minutes by hurling his new No. 70 jersey into the stands while
Lewis was at the other end of the court giving the game ball to his
mother.
"If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be playing this game," said
Lewis, a second-year forward who went from Houston high school star
to the SuperSonics.
Lewis scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, including 11 of
Seattle's next 14 after Dallas got within 96-92 with 6:24 to go.
The spurt included five points in five seconds on a follow shot and
a steal that turned into a layup and a free throw.
"I felt I had to go to the offensive boards. I knew that would
win the game," Lewis said. "I was just out there trying to be
aggressive."
Rodman also was aggressive, even though he was playing his first
NBA game in 10 months and had only one practice to prepare. The
loss left him in no mood to evaluate his own performance.
"It's all about the team," Rodman said. "It's not about
Dennis Rodman."
But this night was. He was the main reason the game drew a
boisterous audience of 18,203, the second sellout of the season and
just 52 fewer than the team's home record that Michael Jordan drew
for his last game in Dallas two years ago.
"I was surprised," said Rodman, who also played in that game
as a member of the Chicago Bulls. "I felt like Michael Jordan for
a minute. This is how people live in Texas. They're very
generous."
The Worm gave fans plenty to scream about early as he caught the
game-opening tipoff and drew the first foul. He also took a hard
charge that left Ruben Patterson face-down for several minutes and
in one pique of anger he nearly hurled the ball into the stands,
but thought better of it. His 13 boards were one shy of the team's
season high by one player.
"He adjusted so well," said teammate Cedric Ceballos, who had
26 points. "The things you'd expect, aggressive defense and
rebounding, he did very well. And he started doing it from the jump
and that was great."
There also were signs of rust. Rodman was caught in two illegal
defenses, dropped a loose ball out of bounds with no one around and
was whistled for five fouls. He missed the only shot he took, which
was actually a tip, and he was slow to react to a give-and-go feed
from Michael Finley.
"He was a little out of sync," Finley said. "He doesn't know
our offense and he doesn't know our defensive schemes. That kept
him a step behind."
The energy and enthusiasm Rodman brought to the start of the
game fueled Seattle's Gary Payton the most. He had 16 points in the
first quarter as the Sonics took an early 11-point lead. Payton
finished with 25 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds.
The Sonics, coming off a last-second loss in San Antonio, won
for just the fourth time in 11 games.
Seattle coach Paul Westphal said he wanted his team to push the
tempo because he knew Rodman wasn't in shape to keep up with it and
because he knew Dallas coach Don Nelson wouldn't do anything to
slow it.
"We tried to run them, they tried to run us," Westphal said.
"It was a nice game to watch."
The Mavericks ended a three-game winning streak, but at 20-28
they still have their best record at the All-Star break since going
26-22 in 1989-90.
Game notes
This was Rodman's 900th career game. ... The Mavs' only
other home sellout this season was against Portland on a Saturday
night in January. ... Emmitt Smith spent the first half sitting
courtside a few seats from Deion Sanders and right next to Ross
Perot Jr., whose sale of the Mavericks is almost complete. ... The
game featured two of the NBA's three players averaging 20 points, 5
rebounds and 5 assists: Payton and Finley. Grant Hill is the other.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
Dallas Clubhouse
Rodman arrives early, starts in debut
RECAPS
Indiana 113
Boston 104
Philadelphia 92
New Jersey 90
Atlanta 116
Houston 100
Charlotte 103
Cleveland 95
Detroit 115
Toronto 108
Miami 115
Golden State 100
Orlando 107
Washington 96
New York 109
Milwaukee 103
Seattle 117
Dallas 106
San Antonio 106
Denver 97
Utah 113
Chicago 86
Portland 107
LA Clippers 100
LA Lakers 114
Minnesota 81
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