Isiah Thomas came back home Monday night in the middle of a small controversy.

Before the ex-St. Joseph High School star led the Detroit Pistons into the Stadium Tuesday night to face the Bulls, he had to clear up a

misunderstanding with Michael Jordan.

Stories have been circulating since Sunday`s National Basketball Association All-Star game that the players in Indianapolis perceived Jordan`s behavior over the weekend as arrogant and cocky.

One incident reportedly occurred when Jordan allegedly refused to acknowledge Thomas` presence in a hotel elevator Saturday night.

''That never happened,'' Thomas said Monday. ''I was very upset when I read that. It could affect a potential friendship between me and Michael.

''He`s a nice guy, and my cousin Darren, the Bulls` ballboy, he hangs around him. My mom has invited Michael over for dinner a couple of times. It just isn`t true. Michael and I talked a couple of times down there.''

Writers covering the game noticed that Jordan was occasionally being frozen out of the offense by some of his teammates. Several times, Jordan flashed through the middle wide open and wound up empty-handed.

''I don`t think that was happening,'' Jordan said. ''In an all-star game, you have to be very aggressive and show what you can do. This being my first all-star game, I was very tentative. I didn`t want to be perceived as a rookie going out to steal the show. I was just happy to be there.''

There were reports the other NBA all-stars were turned off by Jordan`s behavior at the slam-dunk contest when he went throught the first round in his warm-up outfit while the other seven competitors were in their uniforms. They also thought he was showboating by competing in the dunk show with all his gold chains glittering around his neck.

One writer from Detroit said, ''The attitude of the players was Michael Jordan will get star treatment when he learns how to act like a gentleman.''

''That makes me feel very small,'' Jordan said. ''I want to crawl into a hole and not come out. I`ll go home and mope the rest of the day.''

All season, Jordan has been painstakingly careful to avoid any appearance of conceit or arrogance. He has deferred to his teammates and conducted himself that way he thinks a rookie should.

Jordan claims he may have been misunderstood. By nature outgoing and personable, Jordan held back last weekend in deference to the greats of the game. Some of the other players apparently thought he was being aloof.

''I was very quiet when I went down there,'' he said. ''I didn`t want to go there like, `I`m a big-shot rookie and you must respect me.` ''

Some of the other players` attitudes may have been reflected in a statement from San Antonio`s George Gervin, who said, ''Michael is a rookie and he has a lot to learn, just like we all did.''

For his part, Thomas doesn`t have any ill feelings towards the Bulls`

rookie.

''There`s enough light to shine for everybody,'' he said. ''How could I be envious of him when I`ve got the best job in the world? I can go anywhere, do anything I want.''

Will Thomas straighten things out with Jordan while they are warming up for Tuesday`s game?

''I`m going to talk to him tonight (Monday night) before we even get to the court,'' Thomas said.

Thomas teamed with Jordan in East`s starting backcourt Sunday and hit the Bulls` rookie with a couple of passes. However, as good a passer as Boston`s Larry Bird is and as good as Jordan is moving without the ball, the two never connected.

''I think Isiah played it correctly,'' Jordan said. ''It`s hard to determine why Isiah didn`t give me the ball more. Maybe I didn`t the easy shot at the time. I`m not questioning that.

''I guess I`m just going to have to be more cautious around people I don`t know. I don`t want to be perceived as having an arrogant attitude.''

Thomas thinks everything will be fine between them by gametime.

''If Michael Jordan ever walked by me without saying hello, I`d probably turn around and punch him in the face,'' Thomas said with a laugh.