#2 scoring option Hamilton goes down in second quarter, but MJ scores 34 points in 30 minutes to lead Wizards to victory over Magic.

Michael Jordan drives past Monty Williams as Patrick Ewing tries to lend a helping hand on defense.

by Fred Schiebel, Head Writer

ORLANDO -- Like they needed any more challenges.

Michael Jordan's comeback bid had yet another wrench thrown into it as Richard Hamilton, his second in command and the Wizards' second best player, came up limp with a groin injury in the middle of the second quarter against the Orlando Magic Friday night.  It was a much more painful blow than it would be otherwise, on the heels of losing starting power forward Christian Laettner, who broke his leg a week ago.

"It's certainly a blow," coach Doug Collins said. "Luckily it didn't affect us tonight."

Not in the slightest, as Washington registered one of its most lopsided victories of the season, beating Orlando 107-96 to boost their record to 11-14. Jordan was stellar, scoring 34 points in only 30 minutes. But this was definitely a team win.

"We came together a little tighter when we lost Rip," Chris Whitney said. "It was almost like we got pushed in the corner and had to fight for our lives. The pressure was racheted up."

Most Wizards fans probably breathed a sigh of relief when they heard Tracy McGrady (sore back) was not going to play in this one, despite wanting to see what a rematch against Jordan might bring. Grant Hill was absent as well, still on the injured list with bone spurs in his foot. The Magic's third best player, last season's Rookie Of The Year Mike Miller, played, but looked at times like he probably shouldn't have.

"We're banged up pretty good right now," Magic coach Doc Rivers said. "There isn't any kind of pause button you can press to stop the season awhile until you're healed, so we just got to go out there and do the best with what we've got."

They didn't do half bad, for awhile at least. It looked like an ominous night for Washington at the outset, as both Jordan and Hamilton went to the bench with two fouls early in the first quarter. As expected, the Wizards offense was rendered attrocious, connecting on a mere 25 percent of its shot attempts. An Orlando 10-0 scoring run in the middle of the period was primarily responsible for their 22-13 advantage at the end of the first twelve minutes.

Things turned around in the second quarter, the Wizards putting together a 10-0 run of their own to take a 33-28 lead themselves. But then Hamilton went down, and the Wizards were left in a state of psychological disarray. Jordan stepped up, scoring twelve himself in the quarter, finishing with 18 points at the half after playing a scant 14 minutes. He wasn't the only one who picked it up however, as the team as a whole scored a whopping 44 points in the period, powering ahead of the Magic, 57-45.

"I felt panic in the sense of just trying to pick up his load and do a little bit more and not relying upon the young guys and letting them see if they could pick it up," Jordan said. "But they stepped up themselves, and we played great off each other."

The Wizards increased their cushion to seventeen by the end of the third, 83-66, with Jordan adding another ten points, despite picking up his fourth personal with a little over six minutes to go. Apparently McGrady's bad back was contagious, as Magic guard Mike Miller (their only other decent scoring option) struggled with the same condition. But after going only 3 for 13 in the first half, he picked it up a bit, scoring ten points to keep his team from being obliterated.

"At halftime, (my back) just tightened up," Miller said. "The second half, I felt like I was going to be a liability but I didn't want to come out."

Orlando never seriously threatened afterwards. Miller added another eight points in the final stanza before going to the bench bent over in pain, finishing with a valiant 28 for the night. In what may be a surprise to some, Wizards coach Doug Collins put Jordan back in the game despite the Wizards being up by fifteen, a move that was in stark contrast to his earlier strategy of trying to rest him the entire fourth period when Washington held big leads.

"Michael and I were on the same page with this one," Collins said. "Fifteen points is a nice advantage to have, but it can be ripped to nothing in two minutes time if you aren't careful. We really need some wins in order to get back to .500, so we wanted to make certain that we took care of the lead we built."

As opposed to before, where taking care of ballgames in hand wasn't so necessary.

Tyronn Lue and Hubert Davis had 22 points each for the Wizards. Monty Williams added 19 for the Magic.