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| December 24, 2001 | Monday | Shawwal 8, 1422 |
Jordan enjoys himself in Wizards victory
NEW YORK, Dec 23: Michael Jordan Saturday enjoyed a few of his favorite things — playing in New York at Madison Square Garden and beating the Knicks with a game-winning bucket as time expired.
Jordan scored 26 points and nailed a pull-up jumper over Latrell Sprewell with three seconds left to give the Washington Wizards their franchise record-tying ninth straight win, a 87-86 victory over the struggling Knicks.
The 10-time NBA scoring champion was inconsistent throughout this game and missed two shots in the final 96 seconds but he hit the mark with the game on the line.
After Sprewell missed an ill-advised jumper, Washington gave the ball to Jordan on its final possession.
He took the inbounds pass at the top of the circle and drove to the free-throw line, where he pulled up and drained the jumper over Sprewell and Allan Houston.
Sprewell stepped out of bounds on the ensuing possession, capping a miserable game by the Knicks’ leading scorer. He had six points on 3-of-16 shooting and committed six turnovers.
Houston scored 16 points and Marcus Camby had 14 points and 14 rebounds for New York, which fell to 2-6 under coach Don Chaney. The Knicks have lost four in a row at home for the first time since March 1990.
In New Jersey, Karl Malone was knocked to the floor roughly by Nets forward Kenyon Martin, but the Mailman delivered the true knockout blow of the game by scoring 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter as the Utah Jazz beat the Nets 104-90.
Malone took a right forearm to the face from Martin as he drove to the basket on a fast break late in the game.
The clothesline blow knocked Malone off-balance and he fell face-first to the floor. He was on the court for a few minutes but finished the game.
In Phoenix, the Suns snapped a three-game losing streak by using a furious fourth-quarter charge to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 102-90.
Stephon Marbury and Tony Delk combined for 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Suns erased a 78-69 deficit with 7:17 to go by outscoring the Blazers 33-12 the rest of the way.
Saturday’s results (home team in CAPS):
ATLANTA 101 Charlotte 88
Indiana 109 CLEVELAND 103
Washington 87 NEW YORK 86
Utah 104 NEW JERSEY 90
Minnesota 95 CHICAGO 74
DALLAS 102 Orlando 80
HOUSTON 115 Milwaukee 110
Golden State 105 DENVER 101
PHOENIX 102 Portland 90
SEATTLE 117 Detroit 89
LA CLIPPERS 101 Sacramento 85
Patriots gain first spot
FOXBORO (Massachusetts): The New England Patriots used a trick play and some old fashioned power running to beat the Miami Dolphins 20-13 Saturday to take sole possession of first place in the AFC East.
Antowain Smith rushed for 156 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Tom Brady caught a pass that set up his score to the delight of a sellout crowd of 60,292 attending the last regular-season game at Foxboro Stadium, which has been home to the Pats for more than 30 years.
The victory improved New England’s record to 10-5 and dropped Miami to 9-5. The Patriots, who are idle next week before finishing up the season at Carolina, can clinch a playoff berth Sunday if the Jets, Ravens or Seahawks lose.
In another game with playoff implications, the 49ers beat the Philadelphia Eagles 13-3 in a defensive struggle in San Francisco.
The 49ers improved to 11-3, just one-half game behind the St Louis Rams in the NFC West.
The NFC East-leading Eagles dropped to 9-5 and still need one more win to clinch a playoff berth. They finish the season with games against the Giants and Buccaneers.
New England surprised the Dolphins when Brady caught a 23-yard pass from running back Kevin Faulk on a trick play, setting up a two-yard touchdown run by Smith that began a 20-point second quarter burst for the Patriots, who led 20-3 at the half.
During the intermission, 31 former and current Patriots took part in a ceremony to mark each year of the oft-maligned stadium’s existence. The team will move into CMGI Field, adjacent to Foxboro Stadium, next season.
Saturday’s results:
NEW ENGLAND 20 Miami 13
SAN FRANCISCO 13 Philadelphia 3
Tennessee 13 OAKLAND 10 —Reuters
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