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Jordan upstaged by Sprewell
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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 31?2 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.
Frank Isola, New York Daily News