NEW ORLEANS -- Jamal Mashburn's success against Michael Jordan on both ends of the court helped the New Orleans Hornets get their third straight victory and spoil a milestone night for Jordan.
Mashburn scored 24 points while holding Jordan to 1-for-7 shooting in the second half as the Hornets defeated the Washington Wizards 103-94 Wednesday night.
"We were trying to give (Jordan) no open looks to the basket, but he's still an exceptional player," Mashburn said. "He can still make plays."
| |
 |
| Washington Wizards' Michael Jordan (23) goes up for a shot while being guarded by New Orleans Hornets' P.J. Brown (42) and Jamal Mashburn (24) during the first half in New Orleans Wednesday night, Jan. 22, 2003. Jordan made the basket to move into third place ahead of Wilt Chamberlain on the NBA all-time scoring list. (AP) |
| |
With 16 first-half points, Jordan finished with 18 and surpassed Wilt Chamberlain as the NBA's third all-time scorer. He passed Chamberlain's total of 31,419 points with a minute left in the first half when he dribbled laterally with his back to the basket and drilled a fallaway jump shot from the right elbow.
But Jordan would score only four points the rest of the way, and his team fell behind by as many as 22 before rallying in the fourth period to keep from getting blown out.
Jordan downplayed his scoring mark.
"It summarizes the effort I've given throughout my career. But the thing about stats is they define you when you're 10 or 20 years past the game," Jordan said. "While you're playing, what matters is wins ... Their defense really kind of got us baffled in the second half and we were not able to get into the rhythm we wanted to get into."
Wizards coach Doug Collins said he felt some of Jordan's shots were makable.
"He just missed them," Collins said.
Jamaal Magloire scored 16 and grabbed 14 rebounds for New Orleans. David Wesley scored 19, hitting four 3-pointers, while Baron Davis finished with 14, including a 3-pointer that gave New Orleans an 80-58 lead in the third quarter.
Pushing the ball up the floor as hard as they have all season, the Hornets scored 29 points on the fast break, compared to 10 for Washington.
"I think that's huge," Wesley said. "That's also a big part of a lot of people being involved. If you can get out and run, a lot of people are going to get the opportunity to get layups and 3-pointers off the break. I think that's been a key point in our last three wins."
Jerry Stackhouse, who returned after missing four games with a groin pull, led Washington with 26 points and helped get Washington within striking distance early in the fourth.
Etan Thomas hit a pair of free throws to bring the Wizards within 91-81 with about eight minutes to go. But Davis responded with a jumper and Wesley found Magloire for a reverse jam to finish a fast break and push the lead to 14. Washington never got closer than nine after that.
"We knew coming in fast breaking was going to be a big problem and they just ran the ball at us," Collins said. "We couldn't stop them when we had to. This team here is very powerful. We haven't had any team play better against us than they did tonight."
Larry Hughes added 14 for Washington.
New Orleans outrebounded Washington 46-32. Its short win streak has come after a 3-13 stretch that ended with five straight losses.
"As long as we're pushing the ball and rebounding we're going to be OK," Hornets coach Paul Silas said.
Charles Oakley and P.J. Brown were ejected in the final minute of the third quarter after wrestling each other to the floor while fighting for a rebound. Both players' teammates rushed to break up the scuffle, the hostilities quickly ceased and the game proceeded with no further flareups.
After taking a 58-49 halftime lead, the Hornets used an 11-2 run to take 75-56 lead. Wesley had a 3-pointer and jump shot during the run, while Davis had a layup and Mashburn capped it with a couple of free throws.
New Orleans took a 25-14 lead midway through the first quarter when Wesley hit a pair of 3-pointers and converted a steal by Davis into a fast-break layup as part of a 13-0 run.
Washington responded with a 12-1 run that included a 3-pointer by Stackhouse, a fast-break layup by Jordan and a 15-foot jumper by Jordan to tie the game at 26.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2003
The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved
