Jordan Scores 41 in Victory

Determined to win no matter how long he played, Michael Jordan put up some of his biggest numbers of the season.

Jordan scored a season-high 41 points in 53 minutes and teamed with Charles Oakley to win a battle of old vs. young as the Washington Wizards beat the Indiana Pacers, 107-104, in double overtime Saturday night at Washington.

“I’ve been waiting for the moment,” Jordan said. “I’ve been getting close. Tonight, with the highest of things at stake, my game came to me. I was able to make a big impact. Hopefully, this is just the start of something big.”

Jordan scored 20 points in the fourth quarter and two overtimes and added a season-high 12 rebounds in his first 40-point game of the season. He made 14-of-26 shots from the field and 10 of 12 from the line.

“I look down and see 53 minutes, that worries me,” said Coach Doug Collins, who wanted to keep the 39-year-old Jordan around 30 minutes per game this season. “But had I taken him out tonight, I probably would have been fired.”

Sacramento 87, Denver 76 -- Mike Bibby scored 24 points and Doug Christie had 12 points, seven assists and seven steals at Denver.

The Kings had not played in a week and were without Chris Webber (sore knee), but it didn’t matter against the Nuggets. Sacramento forced 21 turnovers and held Denver to 36% shooting to win its seventh straight over the Nuggets.

Dallas 102, Philadelphia 83 -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points and the road-weary 76ers were outclassed at Dallas.

The 76ers finished their six-game road trip with just one win, and seemed lifeless pretty much from the start of the early afternoon game.

Philadelphia’s only lead came 41 seconds in when Keith Van Horn made a free throw for the game’s first point.

Utah 105, Minnesota 97 -- Karl Malone had 19 of his 33 points in the third quarter at Minneapolis, propelling the Jazz to its fourth straight win.

Kevin Garnett, as usual, led the Timberwolves with 26 points and 14 rebounds, but he highlighted Minnesota’s woes at the free-throw line with a two-for-nine effort. As a team, the Timberwolves went nine for 18.

Golden State 86, Houston 84 -- Troy Murphy had 23 points and Earl Boykins added 12, including seven in the fourth quarter, as the Warriors held off the Rockets at Houston.

Cuttino Mobley had 27 points and Steve Francis 15 for Houston. Yao Ming had six points and a career-high 17 rebounds but missed a long three-point attempt just before the final buzzer that would have won it.

Chicago 85, Cleveland 79 -- Jalen Rose scored 19 points and Tyson Chandler made two go-ahead baskets in the fourth quarter at Chicago as the Bulls blew a 20-point lead before winning.

Rose, playing despite stomach flu, had four free throws in the final period and a jumper with 42 seconds left to hold off the Cavaliers.

New Jersey 88, Orlando 83 -- Kenyon Martin had 19 points and 12 rebounds at Orlando, Fla., as the Nets extended the NBA’s longest current winning streak to nine games.

The Nets attempted 28 more free throws than the Magic, which helped lead to the ejection of Orlando Coach Doc Rivers in the third quarter. The Nets converted 24-of-36 attempts while the Magic were six of eight.

Detroit 90, Atlanta 86 -- Ben Wallace grabbed 20 rebounds at Atlanta to lead the Pistons to their fourth win in a row.

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Indiana forward Ron Artest was suspended for three games without pay and fined $35,000 by the NBA for hurling a television monitor and smashing a camera to pieces after a game Friday.... Boston forward Ruben Wolkowyski will miss three-to-four weeks after having his appendix removed.