Michael Jordan 2002: 40pts vs Cavaviers at Age 39 NBA Legend

Añadido: Jul 25, 2008

De: pennyccwnba

Duración: 5:30

Michael Jordan scored 40 points as the Washington Wizards snapped a two-game losing streak and surpassed last season's win total with a 94-85 victory over the hapless Cleveland Cavaliers. In the second half of the previous two games, Jordan was held to a combined nine points on 3-of-23 shooting, fueling speculation that the combination of his age and heavy minutes was causing fatigue. But the 38-year-old Jordan did look not fatigued against the Cavaliers, who suffered their 11th straight loss. After scoring 24 points in the first half, he added 12 in the third quarter, when Washington outscored Cleveland, 29-17, to take control. It marked the fourth time this season Jordan scored 40 or more points. He finished 18-of-29 from the field in 40 minutes. "A lot of people have been saying that I am physically tired and I don't think that is the case," Jordan said. "I just think that the teams we have been playing -- Minnesota and Philadelphia -- made adjustments at halftime and I think we hadn't been able to adjust to their adjustments. "Physically, I felt fine and tonight I felt fine, too," Jordan continued. "I don't think that Cleveland made the adjustments the last two teams made." Chris Whitney added 15 points for Washington, which climbed back to .500 at 20-20. Last season, the Wizards finished 19-63, the worst mark in franchise history. Whitney made three 3-pointers -- all in the first half -- to tie Tracy Murray's all-time franchise record of 410. The Cavaliers took a 54-51 lead on Brian Skinner's dunk with 9:51 left in the third period. Jordan took matters into his own hands, scoring six points in an 8-0 run that gave Washington a 59-54 edge with 7:50 to play. "I am going to take the blame for Michael's last two second halves," Washington coach Doug Collins said. "I knew what they (opponents) were doing and I was telling him, but I didn't give him any help." Jordan's dunk and Popeye Jones' three-point play staked the Wizards to their first double-figure cushion, 70-60, with 3:05 left. "I thought Michael was outstanding," Cleveland coach John Lucas said. "We did a lot of things to help, and I thought he just did a whole lot of things that were very effective, especially shot the ball extremely well. He was pretty up tonight." Jordan had plenty of motivation, recalling how poorly the Wizards played in a 94-75 loss at Cleveland on November 27. "They dominated us in their arena and I just felt that we wanted to come out and exert what we are capable of doing physically," he said. "I certainly didn't want them to play well against us." Washington led by as many 13 points before Jumaine Jones drilled a 3-pointer with two seconds left to bring the Cavaliers within 77-67 enter the final quarter. "In the third quarter, we couldn't come out and hit shots," Lucas said. "We went from shooting 53 percent all the way down to shooting 43, and that really, really bothered us." After Jordan opened the fourth quarter by following in Tyrone Nesby's miss, the Wizards went cold, managing just two points over the next 4 1/2 minutes. But the Cavaliers could not take advantage, registering just six points in the first half of the period, all by Zydrunas Ilgauskas. "We had so many guys do a great job tonight," Collins said. "That is what we want. Basically, our guys just didn't want to lose the game tonight. They recognized the importance of it and did whatever it took." Wesley Person scored 19 points for the Cavaliers, but had just three after the first quarter. Person matched Jordan in the first quarter, when each put on a show with 16 points. But the Cleveland swingman was just 1-of-7 after making eight of his first nine shots. "They stayed up on him and then we missed some looks for him," Lucas said. "They never left him anymore. They were making other people score." A jumper by Ilgauskas made it 81-73 with 7:33 left, but the Wizards put away the contest with a 7-1 spurt. Washington opened an 88-74 lead on Whitney's jumper with 4:57 to go. Rookie Brendan Haywood scored 11 points off the bench for the Wizards, who allowed just 35 points in the second half. "Our big guys did a great job in the post," Collins said. "I told our guys at halftime we would win this game on defense." Jumaine Jones contributed 13 points while Andre Miller and Ilgauskas added 11 apiece for the Cavaliers, who are 1-11 in 2002.

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