Jordan wows... until he completely runs out of gas, as the Wizards drop to 10-14.

Michael Jordan tries to fade from the reach of Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

by Fred Schiebel, Head Writer

WASHINGTON -- The Wizards must be asking themselves... did we just lose to a cellar-dweller, or a rising contender?

Home turf didn't matter either way this time, as the Atlanta Hawks beat Washington 102-96 at the MCI Center last night. It was the Hawks' fifth win in a row, putting them back into the race for the lower-tiered playoff seeds in the east.

"We just got to keep plugging away," said Jason Terry, who scored 18 points. "That's what we've started to do, not even think about the next game, putting everything into the one we're playing, and the results are starting to show."

Michael Jordan looked fantastic for three quarters, but had no energy to finish, going a dreadful 1 for 11 in the fourth in his attempt to carry the Wizards across the goal line himself. He almost had a quadruple double -- scoring 36 points, shagging 11 rebounds, dishing 8 assists... and turning the ball over a staggering nine times. He also put up a remarkable 39 shot attempts total in the game.

"At first [in the fourth quarter] I felt like I needed to keep shooting to get back into a rythym... then, easy shots that I should've made started not to fall either. It put us in a bad position," he said.

Washington got off to a strong 31-24 start, led by Jordan's 14 points in the first quarter. Richard Hamilton was in double figures in the first twelve minutes as well, adding eleven. Toni Kukoc, Jordan's man and former teammate led the Hawks with ten points of his own.

"When we get both of them going at the same time [Jordan and Hamilton], we're almost unstoppable," coach Doug Collins said. "Atlanta shot 52 percent in the first quarter, and we still ended up comfortably ahead."

The Hawks kept coming in the 2nd, cutting the deficit to a mere point by halftime, 50-49. Jordan had 18 points at that juncture, connecting on half his shots (8-16 FGs). He found yet a higher gear in the third, scoring eight points in the first three minutes and didn't look back from there, adding another 18 to his total by the period's end, connecting on 8 of 12 shot attempts. Alas, the rest of the Wizards were four of eleven from the field, and Atlanta took the lead by a point, 78-77, powered ahead by Shareef Abdur-Rahim's tweleve points in the quarter as well.

Then came the fourth, where Jordan looked and played as if he was beyond exhausted. He couldn't find the basket, and the only shot he "made" was an attempt that was ruled a goaltending violation. The Hawks built up their advantage to nine points, 94-85, with 2:02 left in regulation. Jordan's goaltended layup, a Hamilton jumper, then a Chris Whitney three cut the deficit to only four with a 1:12 remaining, 96-92, bringing hope back from the dead.

Hamilton unfortuantely fouled Jason Terry on the next possession, but he only hit one of two free throws. Jordan found Hamilton in the lane to slice Atlanta's lead to three, 97-94, until Kukoc's corner three gave the Hawks considerably more breathing room with 44.1 seconds to go. With the game hanging in the balance, Jordan drove the lane on the next play, missing but getting back his own rebound, but also missed the tip-in.

Abdur-Rahim had 27 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and two blocked shots for the Hawks. Richard Hamilton finshed with 19 points. Hubert Davis had 14 points off the Wizards' bench, in fourteen minutes of play.