Playing his fourth game in five nights, Jordan's knee buckles under the strain in fourth quarter; number of games he may miss yet to be determined. Up seven with less than a minute remaining, Washington still loses.

Michael Jordan tries to limp by the much younger Tracy McGrady.

by Fred Schiebel, Head Writer


WASHINGTON -- This was the nightmare his fans feared could become reality.

To see him lost in the dust of the league's young upstarts, unable to compete against them simply due to their superior speed and athleticism that time has stripped from him. To see him limp off the court, broken.

Tracy McGrady won round one of his duel with Michael Jordan, as his Orlando Magic defeated the Washington Wizards 88-83 Saturday night at the MCI Center, in front of a nationwide television audience. An audience left to wonder if there will be any subsequent rounds, or even if they really would want to see them.

Jordan, who appeared to not be physically sound for the entire game, had to end his evening early with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter, due to the tendinitis in his knee that began to bother him in his summer workouts and in training camp. The condition has persisted throughout the season, getting worse, not better. He hasn't been able to practice all this week, and he revealed he already has had the knee drained once, and will be going to fly out Sunday to see former Bulls physician Dr. John Heffron to do so again.

"I just developed some fluid on my knee, and I think it's about time to pay attention to it so it won't linger all season long," Jordan said. "I don't think it's going to be something that's going to linger. I have to make sure there's no ligament damage, and get it treated, get it drained and see what the doctors say I have to do and see if I can get rid of it."

When he announced his comeback, Jordan said he planned to play all 82 games, despite several physical setbacks that took a toll on his 38-year-old body. Now he says he reluctantly might have to sit out a game or two.

"If (the doctors) come to an agreement tomorrow, I may," Jordan said. "It's early in the season. I don't want to. I'd rather continue to play. But if it's not going to get any better other than me sitting out — long-term, I want to play later in the season."

Jordan last missed a game due to injury on March 5, 1993, against San Antonio. He was hospitalized with a foot infection and missed two games. The Wizards have two days off before a Tuesday game in San Antonio, the start of a four-game road trip

The atmosphere for the matchup  resembled a major, pay-per-view prizefighting event. It only intensified after tipoff, when McGrady had Jordan semi-isolated on the right wing, and got louder still when McGrady's pullup jumper missed.

A couple of possessions later, when the situation was reversed, Jordan swished an 18 foot fadeaway on the left wing over the outreached hand of his younger foe.

Bedlam.

"That's the loudest I've ever heard it in here," Chris Whitney said. "And I've been here for six years."

Not pleased, McGrady then blew by Jordan, who had to intentionally foul him to stop the dunk. McGrady made one of his two free throws. With the 24 second clock down to one on the subsequent play, Jordan sank an 18 foot baseline jumper in McGrady's face to make the score 6-1.

The next Wizards' possession, McGrady stole the ball from Jordan before any more damage could be done. But as the Magic made their way downcourt, Jordan then stole the ball back from Magic point guard Darrell Armstrong.

"The back and forth between them was really something to see," Magic coach Doc River said. "A part of me just wanted to call iso's [isolation plays] all game and let the two of them duke it out."

Tale of the tape at the end of the first quarter: Jordan 3-7 from the field, six points. McGrady, two of six, for five points. And oh yeah, the score was 23-23.

McGrady added a quick five points at the start of the second quarter, as Jordan sat on the bench. The first play after he returned, McGrady blew by him again, causing Jordan to foul him  once more to prevent another poster opportunity. A couple of plays later, Jordan then was hit with his third personal as he tried to steal the ball from Armstrong, a call that was obvious to anyone sitting in the first 50 rows that could hear the loud slap.

Some wondered afterwards if that third foul was an intentional one too, given the condition of his knee.

"That's ridiculous," Jordan said. "Everyone knows how much of a competitor I am. I won't even dignify that accusation with a response."

McGrady had 13 points by halftime. Jordan still had six, and the Magic held a slight lead, 41-38.

In the second half Jordan faded badly. He made only three of ten field goal attempts after halftime, one of those being the first shot of the third quarter. A couple minutes in he had collected his fourth personal while guarding McGrady, on what many would characterize as a dumb foul, aggressively reaching in to try and steal the ball. He stayed in the game for a minute or two, then returned with a minute left in the third with the Wizards down by four. Before the end of the period, he sliced in for an easy basket, tying the game, 64-64.

The fourth quarter began as a defensive slugfest, as both teams struggled to score. Jordan returned again, still having some magic of his own to give. He found Courtney Alexander on a cut to give the Wizards the lead, 70-68. A couple plays later, he hit a fifteen foot fadeaway over McGrady to up it to five. Hubert Davis, after making two clutch steals, hit a jumper at the free throw line to give the Wizards a comfortable cushion, 77-70.

And then the bottom fell out of the game, perhaps the season. Jordan began laboring even more just to get up and down the court. With no fouls to spare, he took a vicious slam from McGrady on a drive as he struggled to remain even in the play. After a fadeaway attempt, he came down awkwardly, then limped up the court to have McGrady easily slide away from him to connect on a twenty foot jumper, cutting the Wizard lead to four, 77-73.

And that was all she wrote.

"I had to take him out," coach Doug Collins said. "I know he wanted to play. I wasn't going to let him do that. I love him too much. I know he's got will and determination and all those things, but I knew he was playing on one leg and I wasn't going to let him do that."

The Wizards still appeared to be in great shape, with Hubert Davis hitting a three with less than a minute remaining to reestablish their seven point advantage, 82-75.  But Mike Miller made two quick three pointers of his own on successive possessions, slicing the lead to just one with 25.1 seconds remaining.

Davis was fouled, but only converted one of two from the line. McGrady blew by Jordan's replacement, Courtney Alexander, for a spinning dunk that not only wowed the crowd but tied the score at 83. Richard Hamilton then missed a baseline jumper. Orlando called timeout with 2.1 seconds remaining, and Miller hit one last three pointer at the buzzer over an agressive Washington defense to cut out the Wizards' hearts for the win.

McGrady finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Miller, apparently taking over Grant Hill's scoring load (who sat out the game due to bone spurs in his foot), had a game high 29 points. Jordan finished with a season low 12 points.

"I hope we don't regret this game come April," Collins said. "A tough, tough loss."

In more ways than one.