Jordan is mesmerizing, but the Sonics somehow get 31 offensive rebounds to keep things close. Richard Hamilton has another obscenely awful game.



 Gary Payton was eyeing a little revenge, but Michael Jordan kept him at bay just like old times.

  
by Fred Schiebel, Head Writer


WASHINGTON -- Maybe he really does just need to find his rhythm again.

The Michael Jordan resurgence continued last night, as he turned in a game that would've been stunning even in his prime -- scoring 39 points, dishing out 11 assists, and grabbing 7 rebounds in his near-maniacal quest to secure Washington's first victory of the season against the Seattle Sonics, 101-94.

"We needed a win so bad," he said. "So I just took it upon myself to find a way to elevate my intensity even more. I approached tonight as if it was a playoff elimination game."

It sure didn't look like one. For most of the first quarter the two teams hurled bricks at each other, the Wizards unable to break away despite the Sonics playing their sixth game in eight nights. Brent Barry, the only Sonic who could locate the basket, opened up red-hot, going six of nine from the field in the period (three of four from downtown) for 13 points.

Near the end of the period the Wizards had built a four point lead, and Collins had figured it was a good point for Jordan to get a little rest. One small problem: he refused to come out of the game.  It turned out to be a good move, perhaps the key to the victory. After hitting only one of his first four shots, Jordan ended up going five of eight, building the Wizards' lead to 29-20. He finished the quarter with 12 points, as well as four rebounds and two assists.

"He was everywhere, doing everything," Gary Payton said afterward, through gritted teeth. "You could really see how bad he wanted it."

The Wizard subs held the lead while he was on the bench. Leaving nothing to chance, Jordan checked himself back at the start of the second quarter despite his team being up, and soon enough he had connected to Christian Laettner on a pass for a driving dunk to increase Washington's advantage to 12.

The Wizards could not hold onto it, however. Seattle closed the quarter with a 20-6 run that sliced Washington's lead to a mere two points by the end of the half, 48-46. Jordan had 20 points at the intermission, but a good deal of the damage was done on the opposing side by the man he was supposed to be guarding, Seattle rookie Vladamir Radmanovic, who came off the bench and had nine points in the second quarter.

"He's 6'10, so it was hard for me to contest," Jordan said, while also admitting leaving Radmanovic open on a couple of plays. "I think he's got a bright future in this league."

The start of the second half began with the familar sense of doom in the air. A couple minutes in a fast breaking dunk by Desmond Mason (also Jordan's man) gave the Sonics the lead, 52-50. Strangely enough, it was two made baskets by offensively challenged Wizard center Jahidi White that reverted the momentum. White had to shoot a ten foot jumper with the shot clock expiring, and surprisingly he converted. The next play he drove to the hoop to give Washington a three point lead, 61-58.

It was part of a 7-0 run that eventually boosted the Wizards to a 78-70 advantage by quarter's end. Jordan still was a force, scoring 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting for the period.

Seattle closed once more in the fourth, too exhausted to make shots, but not tired enough to go chase them down. Or perhaps they simply carooned so hard they bounced right back to them. They appeared to be ready to take over once more, as Sonics forward Rashard Lewis swatted Jordan with Washington clinging to a one point lead. Jordan retrieved the ball though, and with the shot clot expiring hit a twenty foot jumper to put the Wizards up three, 88-85.

Wizard guard Richard Hamilton had another attrocious shooting night, hitting on only two of fourteen shots. His second field goal came just at the right time however, his 18 foot baseline jumper building the lead to five on Washington's next possession.

Then, perhaps the play of the game. Jordan tried to drive past his man, but got bumped, and the ball bounced free. He doggedly retrieved it in the corner, barely getting to the ball in time, teetering off-balance right over the baseline, millimeters from being out of bounds. As he hung there by a thread as Sonics defenders converged around him, he somehow found Christian Laettner cutting to the hoop with a bullseye jump pass, making the score 92-85.

"That was one of the most amazing plays I've ever seen him make," Wizard coach Doug Collins said. "He's still got it."

The next time down he found Tyronn Lue for three to increase the lead to twelve. Of course Washington still had to make things interesting, so Christian Laettner blew an easy layup the next time down. Brent Barry then hit a three pointer, and the lead was back down to single digits with less than two minutes to go. Luckily at that point Seattle appeared too fatigued to keep on fighting, as Lue blew in for an easy uncontested layup for the knockout punch.

"Like a lot of teams we face, they were trying to up the tempo to try and get Michael tired," Collins said. "I was a little surprised they did that too, given how fatigued they must be themselves. We kind of went with it, and they seemed to peter out at the end."

The Sonics sure went down swinging, snagging twelve offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter alone. In the second quarter, they grabbed ten.

"I'm very proud of my guys," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. whose team fell to 1-6. "You can't control how many shots you make, but you can control your effort. They really did their best to try and pull this one out. They earned some more of my respect. "

Gary Payton didn't have a great offensive night, only scoring 8 points. He did dish out 13 assists, but had 5 turnovers. Brent Barry finished with 28 points; Vin Baker, moved out of the starting lineup to the bench before the game, contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds. Rashard Lewis had the same, along with 4 blocks.

Christian Laettner was another key for the Wizards, scoring 13 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. He also had five blocked shots. Tyronn Lue, still starting at the point guard position, had 17 points and 5 assists. Courtney Alexander, Hamilton's backup was also missing in action. Together they combined for a wretched 5 of 26 from the field.

"It wasn't a perfect win," Jordan said. "But it's a start. Obviously any kind of win is a step in the right direction."

Hopefully they can now put one foot in front of the other.