Milwaukee ? For once, Michael Jordan didn’t feel like Milwaukee was his home away from home.

Sam Cassell’s 31 points helped the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Washington Wizards 97-90 Thursday night despite 24 points from Jordan in what was likely his last game at the Bradley Center.

“People thought he was too old,” Cassell said. “He’s still one of the best players in the league.”

Although the crowd was on Jordan’s side, fortune and Jerry Stackhouse weren’t there with him down the stretch, which has always been Jordan’s time to shine.

After his fadeaway jumper over Ray Allen pulled Washington to 89-87, the Bucks put Anthony Mason on Jordan and he missed his last three shots as the Bucks iced the victory with a bucket and four free throws by Cassell.

It was hard to tell if the standing ovation from the sellout crowd as the buzzer sounded was more a tribute to Jordan or the Bucks.

“It was good to see the building full, it was good to see it have some energy,” Bucks coach George Karl said. “I was a little disappointed it was weighted toward Michael, but he’s earned that.

“He’s had a lot of great games in this building and not living very far from here, I’m sure there’s a lot of fans of Chicago.”

When the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard read: “Thank you, Michael!”

Washington's Michael Jordan, right, and Milwaukee's Anthony Mason fight for a rebound in the first half of Thursday's game in Milwaukee. The Bucks won, 97-90.

Jordan said he’ll always hold Milwaukee close to his heart.

“Next best thing to Chicago, obviously,” he said. “I’ve always had good games. Early on we couldn’t beat them in the first part of my career.

“I’ve always enjoyed playing here. The fans have been very supportive and tonight they showed that and I’m very appreciative of that and it just makes me feel good that my work gets noticed and I wish I could play forever.”

Stackhouse aggravated a strained left groin and took a seat midway through the third quarter in his fourth game back since missing four games because of the injury. He finished with 5 points in 22 minutes on 2-of-13 shooting.

“I think we got a little bit of a break with Stackhouse being out,” Karl said.

Wizards coach Doug Collins said it was more than a little bit of a break for the Bucks.

“He’s been the guy late in games we’ve gone to a lot,” Collins said.

“Sure, if you can get Jerry on one side and Michael on the other, it gives you a lot more options, no question about that.”

Kwame Brown tied his career high with 20 points. He had three straight baskets to give Washington its first lead, 68-67, just before the third quarter ended.

Tim Thomas added 17 points and Allen 16 for the Bucks.

Mavericks 112, Timberwolves 109

Dallas — Dirk Nowitzki did his part to show that the Dallas Mavericks are tougher than some people think.

Nowitzki absorbed a pounding to his neck by Kevin Garnett to lead a furious rally in the final two minutes, sending the Mavericks past Minnesota.

Nowitzki, who had 32 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, took over with the Mavs down 104-99. He started with a 3-pointer, then slammed in an alley-oop to tie the game. Next came a steal against Garnett that led to a go-ahead jumper by Steve Nash.

After Garnett tied it, Nowitzki put Dallas ahead for good with a 15-foot turnaround jumper, ending Minnesota’s six-game winning streak.

“The only way you’re going to beat us is if you play us physical,” said Nowitzki, who took nearly an hour to arrive at his locker after the game and was carrying a bag filled with throat lozenges and cold medicine. “Tonight shows that we’re a tough team.”

The hardest hit came while the Mavericks were on a 19-1 run late in the third quarter. Nowitzki blew by Garnett and was headed to the rim when Garnett swung his right forearm. He came nowhere near the ball, instead pounding Nowitzki in the back of the head and neck.

“It wasn’t like it looked,” said Garnett, who had 31 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists. “Dirk likes to pump the ball behind his head. I was trying to anticipate and just trying to block the shot. It was nothing intentional.”

While Nowitzki was down, Michael Finley jumped in Garnett’s face. Finley and Garnett each received technical fouls and Garnett was called for a flagrant foul.

“I felt the foul was a little excessive and I can’t let him do that,” Finley said. “There’s no love lost between us. It was just something I felt I had to do.”

Nowitzki wore an ice pack on his neck during timeouts. While on the court, he often tilted his head shoulder-to-shoulder to keep loose.

“He hit me pretty good,” Nowitzki said. “It was a hard foul, but you don’t want anyone to have easy layups. All I felt was a hit on the head and then my neck was sore.”

Nash had 25 points and eight assists. Former Kansas University forward Raef LaFrentz had 25 points and a season-high 15 rebounds. Finley had 17 points.

Kings 95, Sonics 77

Seattle — Hedo Turkoglu moved into the starting lineup and scored 22 points, while Peja Stojakovic, had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Kings.

Jim Jackson added 21 for the Kings, who snapped a three-game losing streak despite playing their first game without Chris Webber, who is out three weeks after spraining his left ankle in Tuesday’s loss to Utah.

Jackson barely missed his season-high of 23 and helped clinch the victory when he skirted under the hoop, caught a pass from Doug Christie in midair and put in a reverse layup for an 83-67 lead with 5:55 to play.

Rashard Lewis scored 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting. Gary Payton and Kenny Anderson each finished with 12 points and Desmond Mason scored 11.

Things deteriorated in the final 10 seconds when Seattle’s Desmond Mason and Sacramento’s Damon Jones entered into a pushing match and were ejected.