EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Michael Jordan was the attraction. The New Jersey Nets were the show.
Playing before a sellout home crowd for the first time this season, the Nets were so good that even Jordan spent most of the night sitting and watching in awe.
The Nets got off to an absurdly good start, hitting their first 13 shots and opening a 41-point lead before halftime, and defeated the Washington Wizards 111-67 Wednesday night for the franchise's first six-game winning streak in nine years.
It was the most lopsided defeat of Jordan's NBA career.
"They came No. 1 to see Michael and No. 2 to see us, and hopefully they left tonight shaking their heads about the New Jersey Nets," coach Byron Scott said.
New Jersey (26-11) matched its victory total from last season, improved the Eastern Conference's best record and sent Jordan's Wizards to their fourth consecutive defeat.
Keith Van Horn scored 27, Aaron Williams had 17, Kenyon Martin 14 and Jason Kidd added 11 points, 12 assists and five rebounds for the Nets, who had their largest victory margin of the season.
Jordan scored just 10 points and sat out the entire second half as the Wizards had their lowest point total of the season.
"This was a learning experience, a most embarrassing learning experience," Jordan said. "That's how we have to take it."
New Jersey's onslaught began just seconds into the game when Kenyon Martin posted up against Jordan and beat him for a dunk. The Nets opened by hitting six jump shots, including two three-pointers, four layups, two hook shots and Martin's dunk and did not miss until Jordan blocked Todd MacCulloch's layup attempt with 4:23 left in the first.
Van Horn hit a three-pointer with 3:34 left in the first to make the Nets 15-of-16 from the field and give them a 36-10 lead, and it was 43-18 at the end of the quarter as the Nets shot 18-for-21 and got 17 points from Van Horn.
There was no letdown in the second quarter as the Nets continued to look to run at every opportunity. They reached 50 points less than 31*2 minutes into the quarter, took a 30-point lead when Kidd hit a layup with 7:21 left, then went ahead by an astonishing 41 points, 72-31, on a three-pointer by Van Horn with 29 seconds left before halftime.
The Nets received a standing ovation during the final 30 seconds of the first half from a crowd that was mostly comprised of people who came to see Jordan.
Celtics 101, Knicks 100
Boston Paul Pierce had 30 points and Tony Battie scored a career-high 20 as the Knicks lost their sixth in a row. Eric Williams hit the go-ahead three-point shot with 32.9 seconds remaining to give the Celtics a 98-96 lead. He then stole the ball from Allan Houston, which led to a free throw by Pierce.
Raptors 109,
Rockets 103
Toronto Vince Carter scored 29 points and Hakeem Olajuwon had six points and five rebounds in his first game against his former team. Olajuwon, who played 31 minutes, was not much of a factor playing against the team he spent 17 seasons with before the Raptors acquired him in the summer. Alvin Williams added 21 points for Toronto, which shot 56 percent from the field.
Bucks 105, Pacers 100
Milwaukee Ray Allen scored 36 points, including seven three-pointers, and Sam Cassell added 20 points as Milwaukee won its fifth straight. It was Milwaukee's second consecutive victory over Indiana, which fell 106-102 to the Bucks on Tuesday night in Indianapolis.
Kings 112, Nuggets 107
Denver Doug Christie scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, and Sacramento won its 10th in a row. Peja Stojakovic had 29 points and Chris Webber 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings, who erased a nine-point deficit late in the third quarter. Raef LaFrentz had 30 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, and Avery Johnson added 23 points and 12 assists.
Jazz 95, Sonics 80
Salt Lake City Rookie Jarron Collins scored a career-best 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Utah. The 6-foot-11 Collins, in his 26th NBA game, hit all nine of his field goal attempts and easily topped his previous high of 13 points. Karl Malone scored 17 points and John Stockton added 15 as Utah won its eighth straight over Sonics, including three this season.
Blazers 108, Suns 99
Phoenix Damon Stoudamire scored eight of his 19 points in the last seven minutes for Portland. It was Portland's first win over Phoenix after twice giving up late leads in losses to the Suns. Rasheed Wallace had 19 points to help Portland to its fourth straight victory.
Heat 102, Lakers 96
Los Angeles Alonzo Mourning had 28 points and 11 rebounds, and Jimmy Jackson scored eight of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as Miami reached the 100-point plateau for the first time this season. The Heat (10-27) blew a 24-point lead before outscoring the Lakers 12-0 to finish the game.
Warriors 117, Cavaliers 88
Oakland, Calif. Larry Hughes scored 20 points and Antawn Jamison added 18 as Golden State snapped its seven-game losing streak.
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