NEW YORK (KRT) — Michael Jordan didn’t drop 55 on the Knicks last night, although at times he may have looked 55.
Especially when it mattered most.
“I guess the biggest difference is that I’m a little bit older than I was the last time I shot the ball,” he said.
Jordan ushered in Part 3 of his brilliant career by being upstaged by Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston and suffering what figures to be the first of many losses along the way.
In his first game back in nearly three years, Jordan was very un-Jordan-like in the Knicks’ 93-91 victory over the Wizards at Madison Square Garden. He scored 19 points on 7-for-21 shooting, compared to 28 for Sprewell and Houston’s 22.
And Jordan was particularly average in the final minutes with the game on the line. At a time when Jordan usually seizes control, he was more clumsy than clutch.
In the last 3:25, Jordan missed three of his final four shots, including a potential game-tying three pointer with 18 seconds left. He also committed two turnovers and barely resembled the player who led Chicago to six titles in the ’90s.
“It’s just the first game of the season,” Sprewell said after the Knicks opened with a victory. “I’m sure as we get along here and he gets in better condition and gets a better feel for the game, those shots will go down.”
Jordan, 38, admitted that his knee was bothering him in the days leading up to his grand entrance, but refused to use it as an excuse for having as many turnovers as field goals in the fourth quarter.
Jordan played 37 minutes and was frustrated by the Knicks’ swarming defense. Sprewell guarded him for most of the night but tried to force the ball out of Jordan’s hands with a double-team and make his new Wizards teammates beat the Knicks.
When you take into account the months of hype, the national television audience, the demand for tickets plus the celebrities and dignitaries in attendance, Jordan’s return failed to match the buildup.
Jordan will need a few more months to get his legs back and will be a more dominant player in March and April. The Knicks should consider themselves lucky that they’ll face Jordan again on Dec. 14.
He showed glimpses of the player who is one of the greatest ever to play the game. But he also had more air balls (one) than dunks.
Instead, the best player on the floor was Sprewell, who arrived one hour before tipoff but was timely in the fourth quarter, scoring seven points in the last 4:28.
“I didn’t steal the show,” Sprewell said.
Houston, playing his first game since signing a $100 million contract in July, had a strong start, making 8-of-16 shots and grabbing six rebounds. Kurt Thomas added 14 points and six rebounds and Othella Harrington, a major disappointment in last year’s playoffs, had 9 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.
Washington’s best moments came when Jordan was on the bench. After leading by 11 in the first half, the Wizards trailed by six entering the fourth but scored eight straight to open the quarter.
Washington was leading 79-75 before Mark Jackson set up Thomas for a pair of layups. Sprewell’s three-pointer gave the Knicks an 82-81 lead with 4:28 left.
Sprewell hit another jumper after Tyrone Nesby had given Washington the lead.
But on Washington’s next two possessions, Jordan committed a turnover and misfired on a jumper. Jordan finally responded with a 15-footer with 1:38 remaining that cut the Knicks’ lead to 89-88. But when Jordan had a chance to tie it with 1:11 left, his 20-footer wasn’t even close.
“I could never really find a rhythm,” Jordan said. “I had good shots.”
Thomas then rebounded Sprewell’s miss, which led to Harrington’s two free throws with 34.7 seconds left that gave the Knicks a 91-88 lead.
Jordan threw the ball away with 30 seconds left, but Washington got another chance when Thomas foolishly dribbled into traffic and lost the ball. Jordan went for the kill but he could not convert a three-pointer from the wing that was Washington’s last chance.
“I think we are all surprised, I know I was when that three went up,” said Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy. “I thought it was in.”