The struggling Washington Wizards (5-11) and the Orlando Magic (8-9) engaged in a battle of sorcery in DC on Saturday at the MCI center. The challenge of the getting the Wizards on track was not as important as the key match up: New Goliath vs. Old Goliath, or Tracy McGrady vs. Michael Jordan.
Before the contest, the question was, could McGrady hold his own against the greatest player of all time? By the end of the game, the question was could Jordan play with a great such as McGrady?
Through a series of post-moves and a good perimeter game, McGrady dropped 26 points on Jordan and the rest of the lackluster Wizards defense. Not only did McGrady lead Jordan in points, but he led his team to a much-needed win.
McGrady displayed his offensive prowess and his defensive promise, holding Jordan to just 2-for-12 shooting in the second half. In Jordan's defense, he played most of the game with fluid in his knee and also left midway through the first half due to a finger in his eye.
McGrady finished with eight rebounds and two assists to go along with his 26 points. Jordan finished with 15 points to go along with seven rebounds and assists. Jordan did not have the team high in scoring; Richard Hamilton led the way with 21 and rookie Brendan Haywood chipped in 18 points.
Paul pierces New Jersey with 48
Also Saturday, the Boston Celtics traveled to East Rutherford New Jersey to play the New Jersey Nets. While all eyes were on the Nets' Jason Kidd, Celtics guard Paul Pierce stole the show when he scored a career-high 48 points on the night. After a dismal first half in which he shot 1-for-16, Pierce exploded for 33 points in the second half and 13 more in overtime as he led the Celtics to a victory over the Nets 105-98. Pierce shot 5-for-8 from the three-point line and had pinpoint accuracy as he went 17-for-18 from the free-throw line. He might as well have been the Windex man, as he cleaned the boards for 12 rebounds. Forward Antoine Walker carried the Celtics with 15 points in the first half until Pierce caught fire. Walker finished the game with 25 points to go along with 17 rebounds.The overlooked stat of the day was that guard Kidd had a near triple double in Saturday's contest. He showed excellent court vision by dividing the ball equally between teammates to accumulate a total of 19 assists, only turning the ball over six times. Even though he was busy dishing out the ball, Kidd found time to score 20 points and grab nine rebounds in 48 minutes of playing time.
Utah product Keith Van Horn also contributed 17 points and nine rebounds in the losing effort.
Lakers unstoppable so far
Rounding out the weekend marquee match-ups were the Minnesota Timberwolves against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Timberwolves were 10-4 and battling for first place in the NBA's Midwest division entering the game, and the Lakers who were 14-1, owning the best record in the league. What was a close game on paper ended up as another Lakers' romp.As the final buzzer sounded, the Lakers had scored 102 points and still owned the best record at 15-1. As for the T-wolves, they dropped into third place in the Midwest division after only scoring 76 points.
Shaquille O'Neal, who was coming off his first quarter ejection from Friday's game in Seattle, led the Lakers with 23 points and shot 9-for-15 from the field. He also pulled down the team-high nine rebounds, barely missing another double-double.
Shooting guard Kobe Bryant had another good game, and he finished with 18 points, nine below his season average of 27 points per game. In a surprise performance, small forward, Devean George scored 15 points, eight above his season average of seven points per game.
Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett had a sub-par performance, as he scored only 11 points on 5-for-18 shooting. However Garnett did let his presence be heard as he contribute 14 rebounds. Wally Szczerbiak who had 19 points to go along with eight rebounds led the T-wolves.
Tonight's match-ups include a Steve Francis-less Houston Rockets team versus the New York Knicks, who have center Marcus Camby back in their starting lineup. Also playing is a rebuilt Phoenix Suns team, who has Anfernee Hardaway playing like he was on the Orlando Magic again. Along with Stephon Marbury at point guard and Shawn Marion at small forward, the Suns should give good match-ups to an underachieving Golden State Warriors squad. The final game tonight is the Magic, fresh off of their win in Washington vs. the Memphis Grizzlies who still are unpacking their bags and shaking out the cobwebs from their days in Vancouver.
@s:Lakers have been unstoppable
