NBA PLAYOFFS : As Rockets Soar, Spurs Disintegrate : Western Conference: Houston takes Game 2 at San Antonio, 106-96. Rodman Factor strikes again.

Late in the fourth quarter, there seemed to be more fans in the Alamodome wearing red and gold and cheering for the Houston Rockets. The locals, once the majority of the 35,888 on hand, had already hit the streets, either heading home or tending to urgent business.

So how many people does it take to form a funeral procession?

The San Antonio Spurs may not be dead yet, but the heartbeat of what was supposed to be the NBA’s best team is definitely getting weak after a 106-96 loss. Wednesday night brought more questions about the Spurs’ intensity and their togetherness and the Rockets took care of the rest, getting 41 points and 16 rebounds from Hakeem Olajuwon to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals as the series shifts to the Summit.

Part of the credit for the victory goes back to Monday, after the Game 1 victory, when Rocket veterans gathered teammates and told them not to be satisfied with a split on the road. Two nights later, they backed it up.

Olajuwon was brilliant at times against newly crowned MVP David Robinson and Clyde Drexler added 23 points, giving him 48 in the series to the 12 of counterpart Vinny Del Negro.

The Rockets, who have already twice lived this left-for-dead role from the other side in the playoffs, aren’t guaranteeing anything. The difference between the teams, though, is that the defending NBA champions never showed any signs of crumbling from within.

The Spurs, now there’s a different story.

“Philosophically, we just weren’t there again,” San Antonio Coach Bob Hill said, echoing his autopsy report from Game 1. “If I had a specific answer, I’d give it to you.”

While the Rockets continue to show fortitude, the Spurs have their cracks on display. As in, if no one besides Robinson, who had 32 points, is going to make a significant contribution on offense, this season with high hopes will have a sudden ending. And, the Dennis Rodman Factor.

It’s as if the more Hill insists Rodman (hair update: golden) is not a distraction, the more Rodman sets out to prove that he is.

Monday, he was upset about being left on the bench for the last play in what became a 94-93 loss, though Hill explained, quite accurately, that Rodman would only have bogged down the offense.

Wednesday, Rodman was getting the attention with tipoff still an hour away. His photo for the Sports Illustrated cover had already made the rounds, the one in which the game’s premier rebounder was adorned in a black leather vest, short shorts and a dog collar.

“It’s good to see him with all his clothing on,” Commissioner David Stern said, smiling and recalling the GQ shoot earlier this season au natural.

Rodman started the game and within the first five minutes attempted two three-point shots, with plenty of time on the shot clock. He played 14 minutes the first half and three more after intermission before being lifted for good with 9:08 left in the third quarter.

After the final buzzer, he stayed on the bench as teammates went to the locker room. A reporter asked Rodman if he was mad.

“What do you think?” came the response.

Hill did his best to downplay the situation, saying he needed some offense. That might be true. But equally accurate is that Rodman has become an issue from within.

“I fault Dennis for his reaction,” said guard Doc Rivers, who had 16 points after starter Avery Johnson suffered a sprained right ankle. “When I get yanked, when anybody else gets yanked, you take it like a man. He always talks about being a man. It’s time to take it like a man.”

The Rockets, meanwhile, are taking it like winners. Suddenly the league’s hottest team, they have beaten the Suns and Spurs five in a row.

“I think fatigue would be the biggest factor,” Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “But these guys have so much guts.”

No one had to ask who he was talking about.