Rodman Ejected, Mavs Lose

Dennis Rodman says one thing hasn't changed since he last played in the NBA 10 months ago the referees still have it out for him.

Rodman pulled down 16 rebounds before being ejected in the fourth quarter of the Dallas Mavericks' 112-99 loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday night. Glenn Robinson led the Bucks with 29 points.

In only his second game back, Rodman drew his first ejection.

Rodman added six points and four assists.

With 7:13 left in the game and his team trailing 89-85, Rodman contended that the Bucks should have been called for an illegal defense.

When he continued to argue, referee Ken Mauer whistled Rodman for one technical. Rodman then sat on the court in protest, earning a technical from referee David Jones and an automatic ejection.

From that point, the Bucks closed with a 23-14 spurt.

"I didn't even say anything," Rodman said. "They just looked at me and called it."

During the stoppage in play after Rodman was thrown out of the game, Mavericks owner-to-be Mark Cuban continued to yell at Jones from the tunnel leading to the locker room. "Better watch yourself," Jones told Cuban.

Dallas has lost both of its games with Rodman after winning seven of eight in its most successful stretch of the season.

Mavericks coach Don Nelson defended Rodman, saying the Bucks were guilty of an obvious illegal defense.

"They were certainly illegal on the play and then he didn't get the call," Nelson said. "I'm not upset with anybody who gets ejected. It happened to me not long ago."

Teammates said Rodman grew frustrated over several plays in the second half when Rodman was invlved in physical play and no fouls were called against the Bucks.

"They were grabbing his shirt and that frustrated him," said Mavericks guard Erick Strickland. "He didn't deserve to get ejected."

Said Mavericks captain Michael Finley: "The referees justified it by saying he showed them up and showed them no respect by sitting on the floor."

Robinson's 14 fourth-quarter points prevented any Mavericks comeback as the Bucks snapped a three-game losing streak. Robinson hit all four 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter as the Bucks put the game away with a 30-22 fourth quarter. As a team the Bucks were five-for-six from beyond the arc in the final quarter.

"Glenn wasn't really shooting the ball that well until the fourth quarter," said Bucks coach George Karl. "But when he gets into a rhythm, it's our blessing. We have guys who can shoot the ball."

Former Maverick Sam Cassell had 28 points and 13 assists and Ray Allen added 27 points for Milwaukee.

Shawn Bradley matched his season high with 20 points for the Mavericks. Michael Finley had 19 points and Dirk Nowitzki and Cedric Ceballos added 18 each.

Milwaukee erased a 14-point second-quarter deficit as Allen scored nine third-quarter points to help the Bucks take an 82-77 lead onto the fourth quarter.

Rodman gave the Mavericks an early lift with six rebounds, two assists and one point in the first quarter to help his team to a 24-19 lead. Rodman went scoreless with 13 rebounds in 32 minutes in his debut with the Mavericks on Feb. 9.

After leading by as many as 14 in the second quarter, Dallas held a 56-54 halftime advantage. In the first half Rodman had nine rebounds, four assists and four points, including a three-point play with 4:29 remaining until halftime.

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