Jordan Provides Big Payoff Again

Michael Jordan was his old self against Phoenix--unflappable and deadly with the game on the line.

Jordan, who turns 39 on Sunday, scored with two-tenths of a second left to give the Washington Wizards a 97-96 win over the Suns on Friday night at Phoenix.

After completing a 22-point performance with the winning 16-footer, Jordan pumped his fist, turned to a personal cheering section behind the Suns’ bench and said, “That’s what they pay me for.”

He said the thrill of making a clutch shot was even greater at his age.

“It’s more so, because everybody knows who’s going to take the shot, and to come through when everybody needs you to come through, I think that’s a great lesson for our young kids that you should always be positive,” Jordan said.

After the Suns’ Stephon Marbury made one of two free throws with 5.6 seconds to go, the Wizards called a timeout. Jordan took the ball and worked his way from midcourt almost lazily, as if oblivious to the clock, pumped once and went over Shawn Marion for the shot.

Richard Hamilton had 29 points for Washington, which stopped a two-game losing streak, and Tyrone Nesby had a season-high 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Marbury, who earlier in the day pleaded innocent to driving under the influence, scored 30 points. Marbury was arrested Feb. 8 and booked on charges of extreme driving under the influence, driving under the influence and speeding.

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Denver 99, Minnesota 98--Raef LaFrentz scored 30 points, including a driving layup with three seconds to play to lead the Nuggets at Minneapolis.

Voshon Lenard drove down the right side of the lane and passed across to the driving LaFrentz, who scored easily. Kevin Garnett’s last-gasp turnaround jumper missed the rim. *

Utah 94, Toronto 85--Karl Malone and John Stockton each scored 23 points at Toronto as the Jazz won its third in a row.

Malone, ejected after receiving a second technical foul with less than 42 seconds remaining, scored seven points during a 16-5 run for the Jazz, which is 3-2 on its nine-game trip.

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Charlotte 116, Indiana 106--Baron Davis tied a career-high with 38 points and P.J. Brown had 18 rebounds as the Hornets won at Charlotte, N.C.

Brown surpassed 5,000 career rebounds and also recorded his 1,000th career assist as the Hornets won for the fifth time in seven games.

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New Jersey 106, Chicago 81--Reserve Aaron Williams scored a season-high 23 points, and Jason Kidd and Kerry Kittles each had 16 to lead the Nets at Chicago.

Richard Jefferson had 15 points for the Nets, who ended their season-high three-game losing streak.

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Miami 90, Milwaukee 88--Eddie Jones made a jumper with 7.1 seconds left in overtime to lift the Heat at Milwaukee.

Glenn Robinson had a chance to tie it for the Bucks, but his jumper from short range hit the rim as time expired.

It was the Bucks’ third consecutive loss to a non-contending team in the Eastern Conference.

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Detroit 101, New York 90--Ben Wallace had season highs of 19 points and 22 rebounds as the Pistons came back from an early 17-point deficit at New York.

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Boston 107, Portland 104--Paul Pierce scored 31 points, including six in a row in 17 seconds late in the game as the Celtics won at Portland, Ore.

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San Antonio 108, Golden State 99--Tim Duncan scored 10 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Spurs came back from a 12-point deficit at Oakland.

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Utah guard DeShawn Stevenson was suspended without pay for three games by the league after pleading no contest to having sex with a minor.

His suspension began with Friday’s game between the Jazz and the Toronto Raptors.