Washington dismantles 1st place Boston on their home turf, handing them only their 2nd loss of the season; the Pierce-Jordan rematch thrills much more than their first showdown, but falls a bit short of a classic.

Michael Jordan and the Wizarda were intensely focused against the Celtics Saturday night.

by Fred Schiebel, Head Writer
 
WASHINGTON - If the Wizards do end up winning enough games to snag one of the lower-tiered playoff spots, they might already know which of the best teams they would like to face in the first round.


The Wizards got their revenge against the Boston Celtics last night at the MCI Center, doling out a 97-82 beatdown to the top team in the Eastern Conference. Unlike their last bout, which the Celtics barely held on to win at home, this time there was an absolute clear-cut winner.

"We definitely remembered what happened up there, it hasn't been that long," Michael Jordan said. "That particular loss hurt a lot, and obviously we wanted to get one back on them."

Jordan had 18 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field in only 31 minutes, due to the one-sidedness of the contest. Although a bit close to call, he also got the best of his individual matchup with young rival Paul Pierce, who scored 20 points (10-22 FGs), working only 27 minutes himself. While it may have been nice if they could've played a full game (not to mention one that was closer), the battle was much more entertaining than their previous encounter.

The home crowd was with Jordan from the get-go, and went absolutely insane midway through the first quarter when he swatted a Pierce jumper. A Jordan fadeaway in the key not too long after kept the momentum going. At the end of the period the Wizards were up by four when point guard Hubert Davis, who realized he had taken too much time walking the ball up on the final possession, had to hurry into the frontcourt to get a shot up. His three pointer swished at the buzzer, extending Washington's advantage to seven.

"That's when I got the feeling it was their night," Pierce said. "I knew it was going to take a lot to beat them."

Jordan hit three of four of his shot attempts in the first twelve minutes, scoring six points. Pierce hit on only two of seven, for four.

While the Wizards extended their lead at the half to nine points, by that time Pierce had the edge. He poured in ten points in the second quarter, totaling 16 points in the first 24 minutes. Jordan had 10 points, but had only shot six times, and had yet to visit the free throw line.

"Our offense as a whole was being very effective," Jordan said. "I didn't want to get caught up in any individual battles. The team didn't need me to score, so I didn't force the issue."

In the third quarter Jordan's veteran wiles provided the keys to the team and individual matchup victory. At the 10:43 mark, Pierce got tagged with his third foul of the game. Taking note of this, Jordan drove hard on the next possession, goading Pierce into a fourth personal, and a seat on the bench for awhile.

"What can I say, he got me," Pierce said. "Next time, I can tell you without a doubt, he definitely won't get me again."

With Pierce out of the game, Jordan picked apart his replacement, young Kedrick Brown, scoring eight points. The Celtic offense struggled -- rookie Joe Johnson did his best to stem the tide, scoring nine points himself. But by the start of the fourth quarter the score was 79-64, as the game got still further away from Boston.

The Wizard bench put together another impressive couple of minutes, and that was all that was needed. Courtney Alexander drove and got fouled, converting two free throws. Hubert Davis then hit two three pointers in a row. Suddenly Washington's lead was 20, and what was left of the wind in Boston's sails was not amounting to a whole lot. From that point they never again threatened to make a serious run..

Top draft pick Kwame Brown got his most extensive playing time minutes of the season, 17 minutes -- but only attempted one shot.

"We're not looking for a whole lot of offense out of Kwame," coach Doug Collins said. "We want him to chase down loose balls, give us some good defense. I liked how he played tonight."

Washington's bench outscored Boston's, 53-14. Four Wizard reserves ended up in double figures: Courtney Alexander (14 points), Chris Whitney (12 points), Hubert Davis finished with 11, and Popeye Jones had 10. Boston's other superstar, forward Antoine Walker, was held to only twelve points, connecting on a mere 3 of 19 shots.

"This was a fantastic game for us, without a doubt," Collins said. "To beat one of the best teams in the league AND get Michael some rest? It couldn't have gone much better even if I was allowed to write the script."

Let's hope Paul Pierce doesn't get the pen next time.