Jordan misses shot at buzzer that would've delivered the win; rookie Jamaal Tinsley sets Indiana record in assists.

The real star: Jamaal Tinsley goes up for one of his rare shot attempts against Chris Whitney.  He had a franchise record 25 assists.

by Fred Schiebel, Head Writer


INDIANAPOLIS -- It felt like one of those magic moments he's so famous for delivering in, time and time again.

This time Michael Jordan wasn't able to come through to add another to his collection, missing a 24-foot three point attempt with 1.4 seconds to go that would've given the Wizards the victory over the Indiana Pacers Thursday night. Instead they fell, 98-96, in front of a crowd of over 18,000 Pacer fans that afterward almost sounded as if they were depressed they didn't lose.

"Our hearts were in our throats when he got it up... we thought for sure it was going in," Indiana coach Isiah Thomas said. "But it was a shot we'd like to have him take if he's got to take one, and lucky for us he missed."

"I got a pretty good look, but I had to rush it to beat the clock," Jordan said. "What can I say, it didn't go down. I haven't made every last-second shot I've attempted, and there will probably be others that I miss in the future."

He may have been too tired to take it. The Pacers upped the tempo even higher than most Washington opponents have tried to play at, a tatic applied specifically to wear Jordan down. They took 109 shots as a team, running and pushing the ball whenever they could. Looking at Jordan's stat line, the strategy didn't appear too effective -- he scored 28 points on 13 of 28 shooting, although he did have five turnovers, a category he's been struggling with so far this young season.

One of those turnovers came late in the game, as a group of Pacers ganged up on him, stealing the ball and delivering it to Jermaine O' Neal on the other end for a hook shot in the post to tie the game back up at 94-94. Jordan came right back with a drive and fade around the basket, giving the Wizards the edge again, 96-94, with 30.7 seconds left in regulation. O'Neal came through in the clutch once more however, hitting a fifteen foot jumper to tie the game.

The Wizards couldn't score on their next possession, as Courtney Alexander tried to complete a hero drive and took a terrible shot as he was swarmed in traffic. Then, on the other end, O' Neal got fouled by Popeye Jones with 1.4 seconds to go, and he converted the two free throws that ended up deciding the game.

"No, I didn't have too much of a problem with that play," Wizard coach Doug Collins said. "Unlike about all the other fouls we've given in the last seconds of close games this year, this one wasn't on a jump shot. I thought it was a little ticky-tack myself, but what can you do."

The Wizards had a terrible first half, shooting a horrid 29 percent from the field and only scoring 33 points. On the plus side, they did hold Indiana to only 42. Hamilton found himself dealing with the same shooting woes that plagued him earlier in the season, going only 2 for 15 from the field in the first 24 minutes.

Most media painted this contest as Michael vs. Reggie. It turned out Jalen Rose was a much bigger factor, scoring 21 points before halftime, finishing with a dominant 38 points and 9 rebounds, getting the best of his matchup at small forward with Jordan.

"I was here in '98 too," Rose said, referring to the Pacers loss in seven games to the Bulls in the conference finals that year. I wasn't the player I am now, but I was here. That loss might've been the toughest of my career to deal with, even worse than the Finals because it was so close. So I wanted to show him [Jordan] how much I've grown since the last time we played against each other."

Reggie Miller had a slow start, making only 2 of 12 shots in the first half, but had compiled 27 points by game's end. O'Neal had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Lost in the glare of the MJ spotlight: rookie Jamaal Tinsley had 25 assists, breaking the Pacers' franchise record of 20 set by Don Buse in 1976, and tying the record for an NBA rookie held by Ernie DiGregorio and Nate McMillan. Even he couldn't keep the focus on himself.

"I'll never forget this," Tinsley said. "I don't know how to say the words. To play against one of the best players to ever play the game ... I just tried to play hard."*

For the Wizards reserve Courtney Alexander had one of his best games since the season opener, scoring 18 points in 18 minutes of playing time. Hamilton only finished with nine points on 4 of 17 shooting.

"We didn't play too well, but they're one of the best teams in the league right now, excelling at a real high level at the moment," Jordan said. "All in all it was a tough loss, but it's better that we competed with them for 48 minutes rather than fall back in the fourth quarter like we have done in the past."

Jinx?



* - Tinsley actually did break the Pacer record in this game (with 23, not 25 assists); his quote is what he actually said.