NBA ROUNDUP : Bulls’ Jordan Rebounds With 57 Points

Michael Jordan, warming up for a Christmas showdown with the New York Knicks, came off one of his worst games with one of his best.

Jordan matched the high in the NBA this season with 57 points Wednesday night, leading the Chicago Bulls to a 107-98 victory over the Washington Bullets at Chicago.

On Monday, Jordan went 0 for 10 from the field for three quarters before coming back with 15 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter of a victory over Miami.

“If I was going to die, I was going to die shooting,” said Jordan, who made 22 of 37 shots, including six of eight three-pointers.

“I got my confidence early . . . and I just let it flow.”

The loss was the Bullets’ eighth in a row, and the Bulls won for the fifth time in six games.

Jordan, whose personal best is 69 points, matched Reggie Miller of Indiana for the high in the NBA this season. Jordan, who has scored 50 or more 29 times, had 54 in an overtime game against the Lakers on Nov. 20.

The victory was the 200th for Coach Phil Jackson, who, in his fourth year with the Bulls, reached that plateau faster than any NBA coach in history. He has an overall record of 200-70.

Charlotte 107, Detroit 95--Rookie Alonzo Mourning had 27 points and a season-high 18 rebounds before being ejected for fighting with Bill Laimbeer as the Hornets, playing at Charlotte, ended the Pistons’ five-game winning streak.

With Charlotte leading, 101-88, with 4:09 to play, Detroit called time out and Mourning and Laimbeer scuffled near the scorers’ table. The fight was broken up quickly and both were ejected.

Isiah Thomas scored 25 points for the Pistons and Dennis Rodman had an NBA season-high 27 rebounds.

Phoenix 111, Denver 96--Dan Majerle, taking over the offensive load after Charles Barkley was ejected, scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half at Denver, leading the Suns to their 11th consecutive victory.

The loss was the ninth in a row for the Nuggets, and the Suns broke the team record for consecutive victories in a season.

Barkley scored 17 points, but he was ejected with two technical fouls, which referee Ron Olesiak called when Barkley argued that he was fouled with 2:26 to play in the first half.

Utah 92, Miami 86--Karl Malone had 23 points and 16 rebounds in the Jazz’s victory at Miami. The Heat lost center Rony Seikaly because of an apparent knee injury late in the game.

Seikaly hurt his right knee when Grant Long fell to the court against his teammate’s leg with 1:30 remaining.

Cleveland 118, Indiana 104--Brad Daugherty scored 14 of his 22 points on free throws and the Cavaliers won their seventh consecutive game with the help of a 34-14 advantage at the line.

The loss was the fourth in a row on the road for the Pacers, who got 22 points from Reggie Miller and 21 by Detlef Schrempf.

Boston 98, Houston 94--Reggie Lewis scored the Celtics’ final five points, including the winning basket over Hakeem Olajuwon with 22 seconds to play at Boston.

Lewis, who finished with 12 points, helped the Celtics overcome Olajuwon’s 39-point, 13-rebound performance.

Sacramento 102, Minnesota 96--Lionel Simmons’ two free throws with 53 seconds to play put Sacramento ahead, and the Kings went on to their second overtime victory on the road in two days.

Mitch Richmond scored 30 points for the Kings, who had lost eight in a row overall and 10 in a row on the road before winning at Milwaukee on Tuesday night.

Golden State 111, Dallas 97--Tim Hardaway scored 23 points and Chris Mullin added 20 as the Warriors, playing at Oakland, kept the Mavericks (2-19) winless in 10 games on the road.