DENVER -- Shammond Williams would rather pass to his teammates. But once he started hitting long-range baskets, he just kept shooting.
Williams scored eight straight Denver points early in the fourth quarter, helping produce a 13-point lead, and the Nuggets beat the Washington Wizards 88-72 Sunday night.
Williams had 15 points to pace six Nuggets in double figures, spoiling Michael Jordan's final appearance in Denver, where he once shot a free throw with his eyes closed.
Jordan, who plans to retire after this season, finished with 19 points for Washington, which shot only 35 percent.
The loss damaged the Wizards' playoff hopes, dropping them a half-game game behind Milwaukee in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
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| Washington Wizards guard Michael Jordan, left, and Jerry Stackhouse confer on the bench in the waning seconds of the Wizards' 88-72 loss to the Nuggets in Denver on Sunday, March 30, 2003. (AP) |
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The Nuggets are only 17-57, but have won three of their last five.
"We've been playing some darn good basketball as of late," Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "This is a tribute to our players, who haven't quit. They come to work every day. They've done what we've asked them to do - play with great enthusiasm and great effort. It's good to see some of the results."
Denver outscored Washington 28-13 in the third quarter to erase a 44-36 halftime deficit and take a 64-57 lead. Denver started the period with an 11-2 run, including three inside baskets by Nene Hilario, to take the lead for the first time, 47-46.
Jeff Trepagnier had seven points in the quarter for Denver.
With Denver leading 66-59 early in the final period, Williams hit a 3-pointer, followed by a 20-foot jumper and another 3-pointer, the last coming with 7:57 left, for a 74-61 lead.
Williams was 5-of-7 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
"I just started to stick my shots," he said. "I'm happier creating shots for others, getting my teammates involved in the game. I pulled up and got some shots. Once I knocked down a few, I just kept shooting."
Rodney White followed with four straight Denver baskets as the Nuggets pushed their lead to 20.
Washington, concluding a six-game, 10-day road trip, shot just 19 percent (7-of-36) in the second half.
"We just hit the wall," Wizards coach Doug Collins said. "We had no energy at all from about the midpoint of the second quarter. We were on dead legs, and we were playing a young, aggressive team that just pushed right over the top of us from that point on."
Collins noted his team has nine games left. "And we will have to win at least seven of them, so there's no room for error for us now," he said.
Jordan, who was 9-of-23, said his team "got out of the blocks quick, but we just wilted the rest of the way. Jerry (Stackhouse) missed two layups, one on a breakaway, and I missed so many easy shots. That says it all."
Hilario finished with 13 points, and White and Donnell Harvey each had 11.
Stackhouse added 15 points for Washington, which shot 63 percent in the first quarter compared with Denver's 32 percent to take a 25-16 lead. Stackhouse had nine points and Jordan added eight, on 4-of-4 shooting.
The Wizards hit six of their first seven shots, and Stackhouse's layup pushed the lead to 14-4. After Denver cut the lead to five, Stackhouse's steal and dunk made it 22-11.
Jordan committed three straight turnovers, though, helping Denver cut the lead to 22-16 late in the period.
Jordan shot just 2-of-10 in the second quarter, but the Nuggets could get no closer than seven points, on Harvey's two free throws with 6:19 left.
In 1991, Jordan, then playing for Chicago, attempted and made a free throw with his eyes closed at Denver's McNichols Arena, telling Nuggets center Dikembe Mutombo, "This one's for you."
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