Spurs Dump Supersonics On Rebound San Antonio Ends Seattle Win Streak Despite Absence Of Injured Rodman

Even without Dennis Rodman, San Antonio won the battle of the boards against Seattle.

With Rodman sidelined by a separated shoulder, Chuck Person and J.R. Reid filled the rebounding gap and helped the Spurs beat the SuperSonics 104-96 Monday night.

Person and Reid each grabbed 11 rebounds, helping San Antonio outrebound Seattle 53-45.

“That was a character win,” said Spurs head coach Bob Hill. “After the news about Dennis, I can’t say enough about these guys. They were on a mission. Tonight’s performance was real special.”

Rodman, the NBA’s leading rebounder, injured his right shoulder in a motorcycle accident Sunday and is expected to miss up to four weeks.

But his absence didn’t prevent the Spurs from winning their fourth straight game and halting Seattle’s five-game winning streak.

“We tried to rebound a little better with Dennis Rodman out,” Reid said. “We had a good team rebounding night.”

Shawn Kemp led the Sonics with 23 points, even though he played only 31 minutes because of foul trouble.

“We had a big hole in minutes when Shawn sat down,” said Seattle coach George Karl. “We kept fighting back, but we had trouble with our free throws and finishing our shots.”

Person scored 14 points for the Spurs, while Reid added 13.

San Antonio, which never trailed, pulled away from a 58-58 tie as Robinson scored eight points to give the Spurs an 84-74 lead after three periods. Robinson finished with 24 points.

“Robinson was tough,” Karl said. “All in all, it was a hard fought game, but we were in foul trouble for too long.”

Seattle got no closer than five points in the fourth period as Avery Johnson and Doc Rivers each scored five points for the Spurs.

The Spurs tied a team record by making six 3-point shots in the first half while taking a 52-47 lead.