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| December 31, 2001 | Monday | Shawwal 15, 1422 |
Jordan scores 51 as Wizards outclass Hornets
WASHINGTON, Dec 30: Michael Jordan bounced back from his career scoring low by pouring in 51 points as the Washington Wizards halted a two-game slide with a 105-86 victory over the Charlotte Hornets Saturday.
Jordan collected 34 points in the first half, falling three points shy of his previous high this season for an entire game.
The five-time NBA Most Valuable Player had just six points in Thursday’s loss at Indiana, his all-time low.
Hubert Davis matched a season high with 21 points, shooting 5-of-6 from 3-point range, as Washington avenged Wednesday’s road loss that ended its nine-game winning streak.
Davis stepped up in the absence of Richard Hamilton, the Wizards’ second-leading scorer who is on the injured list with a pulled groin.
Jamaal Magloire scored a career-high 22 points off the bench for the Hornets, who closed the year with six losses in eight games.
In Chicago, Ron Mercer scored 15 points to lead seven players in double figures as the Bulls opened the Bill Cartwright era by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-80.
In his sixth year as a Bulls assistant, Cartwright on Friday was named Tim Floyd’s replacement for the remainder of the season.
The Bulls (5-23) snapped an eight-game losing streak.
In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash helped the Dallas Mavericks win their ninth straight and got coach Don Nelson his 1,000th victory, 113-97 over the Atlanta Hawks.
Nowitzki scored a season-high 35 points on 12-of-17 shooting along with 12 rebounds. Nash added 29 and 10 assists.
Michael Finley sat the game out, nursing a strained left hamstring. He ended his consecutive games streak at 490.
Nelson improved to 1,000-790 in his 24-year career, joining Toronto’s Lenny Wilkens (1,241) and Miami’s Pat Riley (1,054) as the only coaches with 1,000 wins.
In New Jersey, Kerry Kittles sent the game to overtime with a clutch 3-pointer and made two huge baskets in the final two minutes of the extra period to lead the Nets to a 98-93 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Kittle finished with 22 points and Todd MacCulloch added 21 and eight rebounds. Keith Van Horn had 14 points and nine rebounds and Jason Kidd collected eight points, 14 assists and 15 rebounds as the Nets took the series, 3-1.
Jermaine O’Neal had 25 points and 11 rebounds and Reggie Miller scored 21 for Indiana, which had a four-game winning streak snapped.
New Jersey maintained a half-game lead over Milwaukee for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and one-game edge over Boston in the Atlantic Division.
In Los Angeles, Eric Williams and Antoine Walker nailed a pair of 3-pointers 36 seconds apart in overtime as the Boston Celtics rallied for a 105-103 victory over the Clippers.
Saturday’s results (home team in CAPS):
Boston 105 LA CLIPPERS 103 (OT)
WASHINGTON 107 Charlotte 90
NEW JERSEY 98 Indiana 93 (OT)
CHICAGO 103 Cleveland 80
DALLAS 113 Atlanta 97
MILWAUKEE 102 San Antonio 99 (OT)
PHOENIX 109 Denver 92
UTAH 89 Philadelphia 81
SEATTLE 101 Toronto 75
—Reuters
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