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| November 3, 2001 | Saturday | Shaba’an 16, 1422 |
Jordan finally shows magic
ATLANTA, Nov 2: Michael Jordan was a little sluggish in the fourth quarter, but he still scored 31 points as the Washington Wizards won their first game of the season 98-88 over the Atlanta Hawks Thursday.
Jordan in his second game in more than three years, started stronly with 11 points in the first quarter and had 19 at the half — his total against the New York Knicks in his first game back from retirement Tuesday.
With Washington holding a 90-86 lead and 51 seconds left, Jordan drew a double-team on the wing and passed it to a wide-open Chris Whitney, who drilled a three-pointer to seal the win.
Richard Hamilton finished with 22 points and Whitney chipped in 16 for Washington, which shot 44 percent (39-of-88) from the field. Popeye Jones added nine points and 13 rebounds.
Jason Terry led Atlanta with 23 points.
In Philadelphia, Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 99-92 victory over the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers.
Nowitzki was too quick for Derrick Coleman as he often used his dribble to go around the slower power forward. When Coleman backed off, Nowitzki drilled the outside shot, including three 3-pointers.
Steve Nash scored 22 points and Tim Hardaway added 17 for the Mavericks, who led by as many as 18 points as they improved to 2-0 for the second straight season.
Matt Harpring scored 21 points and Dikembe Mutombo 19 and 16 rebounds for the Sixers, who again played without injured guards Allen Iverson, Aaron McKie and Eric Snow.
In Memphis, Tennessee, Jerry Stackhouse scored 13 of his 34 points in the final four minutes as the Detroit Pistons rallied for a 90-80 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, playing their first game in their new city.
In pre-game ceremonies, Grizzlies starting center and native son Lorenzen Wright asked the crowd for support, saying, “We want you guys to be the best fans in the NBA.”
The Grizzlies carried the momentum to a 48-36 lead early in the second half, but the Pistons rallied to take a 61-60 lead into the fourth quarter before turning the game over to Stackhouse.
In Denver, Ervin Johnson’s free throw with one second left — his only point of the game — gave the Milwaukee Bucks a 102-101 victory over the Denver Nuggets, who wasted 44 points by Nick Van Exel.
With the score tied at 101-101, Sam Cassell turned the ball over with 12 seconds left. George McCloud went in for a layup that was blocked by Glenn Robinson with six seconds to go.
Ray Allen made 8-of-9 3-pointers and scored 31 points to lead Milwaukee.
Thursday’s results (home team in CAPS):
Dallas 99 PHILADELPHIA 92
Washington 98 ATLANTA 88
Detroit 90 MEMPHIS 80
HOUSTON 98 LA Clippers 92 (OT)
Milwaukee 102 DENVER 101
LA Lakers 105 UTAH 101
SEATTLE 114 San Antonio 108
Phoenix 107 GOLDEN STATE 101
—Reuters
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