Wizards Stymie Bulls With Low-Flying Jordan

Michael Jordan was weary from a stomach ailment, so Christian Laettner and Larry Hughes finished off the Chicago Bulls.

Laettner had season highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds, including eight points in the fourth quarter, and Hughes had 22 points as the Washington Wizards beat the Bulls, 101-98, Wednesday night at Washington.

Jordan, playing with a mild virus that caused him to leave the morning shoot-around early, had 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in 33 minutes, but most of the points came at the start of the third quarter when the Wizards turned an 11-point halftime deficit into an 11-point lead.

Jordan was 0 for 3 in the final quarter, even as the Bulls cut their deficit to one point four times.

“When you’re feeling bad, you just try to figure out what can you get by with,” Jordan said.

The Wizards have won five in a row and are above .500 for the first time since Nov. 17.

Jordan is now 4-0 when playing against his former team; he was injured when the Wizards had their only loss to the Bulls last season. It was the 15th consecutive road loss for Chicago.

Utah 99, Phoenix 93 -- Karl Malone scored 24 points and Mark Jackson recorded his 10,000th career assist to help the Jazz overcome an 11-point second-half deficit to win at Salt Lake City.

Utah’s Matt Harpring finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and his jumper late in the third quarter gave Jackson his 10,000th assist, making him the third NBA player to reach the milestone. Teammate and all-time assist leader John Stockton and Magic Johnson are the other players with 10,000 assists.

Detroit 103, Philadelphia 94 -- Richard Hamilton scored nine of his 29 points in overtime, helping the Pistons win at Philadelphia. Detroit won its third in a row and its 11th in its last 14.

Allen Iverson had 25 points and nine assists for the 76ers before fouling out early in overtime. He scored eight of Philadelphia’s last 12 points in regulation, but missed a running, one-hander at the regulation buzzer.

Houston 91, Orlando 81 -- Yao Ming had 23 points and 11 rebounds to help the Rockets break an 11-year losing streak at Orlando, Fla. The Rockets’ last win at Orlando was in 1991.

Tracy McGrady scored 27 points but made only 10 of 26 shots for the Magic.

San Antonio 106, Seattle 95 -- Tim Duncan scored 23 points and Tony Parker had 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for the Spurs at Seattle. The Spurs won their third straight game and handed the SuperSonics their third consecutive defeat and their seventh loss in nine games.

Dallas 117, Atlanta 99 -- Dirk Nowitzki and Nick Van Exel combined for 18 points during a decisive 20-4 run as the Mavericks pulled away at Atlanta. Nowitzki finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds.

Minnesota 102, Golden State 95 -- Troy Hudson had 23 points, 11 assists and no turnovers and Kevin Garnett had 21 points and 14 rebounds for his league-high 29th double-double of the season for the Timberwolves at Minneapolis.

Indiana 89, New York 87 -- Ron Mercer, who had 19 points, made one of two free throws for the Pacers, then the Knicks missed three shots in the final seconds at Indianapolis.

Denver 86, Miami 76 -- Juwan Howard had 28 points and 12 rebounds to help the Nuggets break a six-game home losing streak.

Boston 93, New Orleans 83 -- Paul Pierce scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half and made 16 free throws for the Celtics at New Orleans.