NBA ROUNDUP : Like Old Times for Jordan, Bulls

Four games into his comeback, Michael Jordan did what everyone has been waiting for--win a game for the Chicago Bulls.

One night after he went seven for 23 in a loss to Orlando, Jordan hit a 16-foot shot at the buzzer to give the Bulls a 99-98 victory at Atlanta on Saturday.

“I’ve been chasing the game,” said Jordan, who finished with 32 points. “Tonight I let it come to me. For the first time, I came through under pressure. I finished strong.”

Jordan said he just wanted to redeem himself.

The sellout crowd of 16,378 cheered every time he scored.

“This is the first time I’ve felt really positive, like I contributed,” he said. “After stinking it up last night (in his first home game since coming back), this means a lot mentally.”

Jordan made 14 of 26 shots, all four free throws, grabbed four rebounds and had two assists in 43 minutes. He got 18 of his points in the third quarter, matching Atlanta’s total for the period.

Mookie Blaylock led the Hawks with 20 points and Steve Smith added 19. Scottie Pippen had 23 and Toni Kukoc 18 for the Bulls.

B.J. Armstrong gave Chicago a 97-94 lead on a three-point basket from the right corner with 2:12 to play.

Blaylock made a shot, then Andrew Lang made another with 47 seconds to play to give the Hawks a 98-97 edge.

Blaylock came up with a steal for the Hawks, but Jordan blocked Smith’s shot and later got the rebound off Lang’s miss, calling time out with 5.9 seconds left.

“When I got the rebound with five seconds left, I admit I did a little dreaming,” Jordan said. “It’s been a long time since that’s happened.”

On the game winner, Jordan moved in on Smith from above the free throw line, went up and made the shot as the buzzer sounded.

“I saw it coming,” Smith said. “I made the mistake of not denying him the ball on the inbounds. Once he gets a running start at you, it’s hard to keep backpedaling and to play good defense, because he can stop on a dime and pull up on you, which is what he did.”

OTHER GAMES

Alonzo Mourning had 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Hornets clinched a playoff berth with a 105-97 victory over Cleveland at Charlotte. . . . David Robinson scored 27 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 113-105 victory at Milwaukee, their seventh in a row and 26th in 30 games. . . . Jamal Mashburn scored 28 points to lead the Mavericks to a 117-110 victory over Utah at Dallas. . . . Grant Hill had a season-high 33 points and 16 rebounds and Oliver Miller’s tap-in with three seconds left gave Detroit a 104-103 victory over Boston at Auburn Hills, Mich. . . . Derrick Coleman made two free throws with 25.4 seconds to play and New Jersey snapped a four-game losing streak with a 96-95 victory at Miami. . . . Reggie Miller scored 27 points for Indiana, which shot only 36% in an 84-75 victory at Philadelphia.