Jordan Leaves 'Em Laughing in Toronto - Los Angeles Times
Advertisement

Jordan Leaves ‘Em Laughing in Toronto

Share via
From Associated Press

Michael Jordan played so poorly that people laughed at him.

Morris Peterson scored 20 points and Jordan went scoreless in the second half -- and even missed a dunk -- and the Toronto Raptors opened their season with a 74-68 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night at Toronto.

Jordan, coming off the bench, scored eight points in 25 minutes, missing 10 of 14 shots. After missing two free throws with 4:06 left, he missed a breakaway dunk as the ball clanged off the back rim. The crowd laughed at Jordan, who turns 40 in February.

“I’m pretty sure everybody is going to look at the one play,” Jordan said. “I felt like I exploded pretty good. I got hit on the knee, but I still should have finished it. Other than that I felt good.”

Advertisement

Toronto’s Vince Carter had 18 points in his first game since surgery on his left knee in March.

Jerry Stackhouse had a team-high 19 points for the Wizards, and Kwame Brown had a career-high 18 rebounds.

New Orleans 100, Utah 75 -- Baron Davis had 21 points and 10 assists in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 17,668 at New Orleans.

Advertisement

It was the first regular-season NBA game in New Orleans since the Jazz left for Utah in 1979.

Golden State 106, San Antonio 98 -- Antawn Jamison scored 36 points and Jason Richardson had 22 at Oakland, and the Warriors won in Eric Musselman’s coaching debut.

Jamison scored 15 of his points in the first half. Tim Duncan had 24 points and nine rebounds for San Antonio.

Advertisement

Orlando 100, Miami 86 -- The Magic improved to 2-0 for the first time since 1993, taking advantage of the Heat’s sputtering offense and defensive breakdowns at Miami.

Tracy McGrady scored 24 points and Grant Hill had 17 for the Magic, which shot 55% from the field.

Detroit 86, New York 77 -- Richard Hamilton scored 22 points in his Piston debut and Detroit’s depth wore down the injury-depleted Knicks at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Allan Houston scored 31 points and helped New York lead by as many as 12 points in the first half.

Dallas 119, Memphis 108 -- Steve Nash scored 24 points at Memphis, Tenn., to lead the Mavericks to their eighth consecutive victory over the Grizzlies.

Rookie Gordan Giricek scored 29 points for Memphis.

Minnesota 83, Denver 77 -- Newcomer Troy Hudson scored 23 points for the banged-up Timberwolves at Minneapolis.

Advertisement

The Nuggets went on a 22-4 run and took advantage of poor Minnesota shooting to pull to within 70-63 after three quarters.

Chicago 99, Boston 96 -- Trenton Hassell scored eight of his 14 points in the last three minutes, including two three-pointers, to twice give the Bulls the lead at Boston.

Boston’s Antoine Walker had 14 points and 11 rebounds, but made only five of 23 shots.

Philadelphia 95, Milwaukee 93 -- Allen Iverson had 28 points, including a go-ahead jumper in the final minute, to lead the 76ers at home.

Ray Allen scored 28 points for Milwaukee, but missed a long jumper and turned the ball over in the final minute.

New Jersey 105, Atlanta 94 -- Jason Kidd had 16 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds to lead the Nets at East Rutherford, N.J.

Seattle 86, Phoenix 73 -- Brent Barry had eight of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead the SuperSonics at Seattle.

Advertisement
Advertisement