Washington — Unable to hit a shot and worn out by a sinus infection, Michael Jordan somehow summoned the energy to put an exclamation point on a victory against his former team.
Jordan grabbed Ron Mercer's layup out of the air with both hands and pinned it against the backboard in the final seconds of Washington's 89-83 victory over Chicago on Friday.
"I can jump when I have to, especially when I get (angry)," said Jordan, who joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Wilt Chamberlain as the only NBA players to reach 30,000 career points.
Jordan scored 29 points, but 19 of them came in the second quarter. He was 1-for-9 with just four points in the second half as the Wizards nearly blew a 26-point lead.
"This is special in a sense that we're trying to claw our way out of the basement of losing teams," Jordan said. "If we have to step on other people to move up, then that's what we do."
The Wizards (17-14) are three games above .500 and have won three straight and five in a row at home. The Bulls (6-25) are again at the bottom of the standings and are 0-17 on the road.
Chris Whitney had 18 points and eight assists for the Wizards, and Popeye Jones had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Mercer scored 25 to lead the Bulls, and Charles Oakley had 12 points and a season-high 13 rebounds.
Heat 89, Celtics 66
Boston Eddie Jones scored 23 points and Brian Grant added 18 points and 12 rebounds as Miami snapped Boston's seven-game home winning streak. The win, the second straight on the road for the Heat after a six-game losing streak, was coach Pat Riley's 300th with Miami. It was the worst offensive output of the season for Boston. The Heat held the Celtics to 22-for-77 shooting. Paul Pierce, the NBA's second-leading scorer, shot 5-for-19, while Antoine Walker, ninth in scoring, was 5-for-15.
Alonzo Mourning had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat.
Raptors 101, Cavaliers 91
Toronto Vince Carter scored 34 points as Toronto beat Cleveland for the 10th straight time. Antonio Davis and Alvin Williams added 17 points each for the Raptors, who have won six of eight. Carter also had eight assists. Keon Clark, starting in place of the injured Hakeem Olajuwon, had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors. Ricky Davis led Cleveland with 15 points.
Magic 109, Nets 96
East Rutherford, N.J. Tracy McGrady scored 35 points before being ejected along with Kenyon Martin of New Jersey for a late schuffle that marred Orlando's win over the Nets.
T-wolves 93, Jazz 86
Minneapolis Wally Szczerbiak scored a career-high 37 points as Minnesota rallied and snapped Utah's four-game winning streak. After being down by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, the Wolves went on a 24-10 run. Kevin Garnett added 19 points and 15 rebounds for Minnesota. Karl Malone led Utah with 15 points and John Stockton had 13.
Pacers 92, Spurs 82
San Antonio Al Harrington came off of the bench to score 18 points as Indiana beat the Spurs. Indiana placed five players in double figures as Jermaine O'Neal scored 16 points, Jeff Foster added 14 and Reggie Miller 13. San Antonio was led by Tim Duncan with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Hawks 113, Grizzlies 109
Memphis, Tenn. Shareef Abdur-Rahim, facing his former team for the first time, had 22 points and 13 rebounds in Atlanta's victory. Jason Terry added 20 points and 11 assists for the Hawks. Shane Battier led the Grizzlies with 22 points.
Clippers 82, Nuggets 80
Denver Lamar Odom scored 27 points, Elton Brand hit a key rebound basket with 1:36 left and Los Angeles edged Denver. James Posey had 28 points and Raef LaFrentz 20 for Denver. Posey's driving layup gave the Nuggets an 80-79 lead with 2:50 left, but Denver didn't score again. Nick Van Exel, Denver's top scorer, left the game in the third with lower-back spasms. He played only 19 minutes and failed to score.
Sixers 87, Sonics 77
Seattle Allen Iverson started slowly but finished with 22 points as Philadelphia snapped the SuperSonics' six-game winning streak. Iverson shot 8-for-21 as the 76ers won their second straight game. Derrick Coleman had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia, while Matt Harpring had 14 points and Aaron McKie added 12. Rashard Lewis and Shammond Williams had 15 points each for Seattle.
Lakers 118, Suns 86
Los Angeles Shaquille O'Neal, showing no effects from the toe problems that sidelined him for five games, had 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant added 18 points and six assists in 30 minutes for Los Angeles, which was 3-2 while O'Neal was on the injured list.
Shawn Marion had 20 points for Phoenix.
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