Four games into his comeback, Michael Jordan did what everyone has been waiting for - win a game for the Chicago Bulls.
One night after he went 7-for-23 in a loss to Orlando, Jordan hit a 16-footer at the buzzer and carried the Bulls to a 99-98 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night."I've been chasing the game," said Jordan, who finished with 32 points. "Tonight I let it come to me. For the first time, I came through under pressure. I finished strong."
Jordan said he just wanted to redeem himself.
"I hoped Atlanta would be a good place for that to happen," Jordan said "It's close to North Carolina and The Omni has always been a good place for me. I get great respect from the fans here and I appreciate it."
The sellout crowd of 16,378 cheered every time Jordan scored.
"This is the first time I've felt really positive, like I contributed," he said. "After stinking it up last night (in a home loss against Orlando), this means a lot mentally."
It was the first time Jordan had the opportunity to shoot with the game on the line since coming out of retirement, and he made it count, giving the Bulls a 2-2 record since his return.
Jordan hit 14 of 26 shots, all four free throws, grabbed four rebounds and had two assists in 43 minutes. He got 18 of his points in the third quarter, matching Atlanta's total for the period but also had one brief stretch where he shot consecutive air balls.
Mookie Blaylock led the Hawks with 20 points and Steve Smith added 19.
Scottie Pippen had 23 and Toni Kukoc 18 for the Bulls.
The game was tied 94-94 when B.J. Armstrong gave Chicago the lead on a 3-point basket from the right corner with 2:12 to play.
Atlanta failed to score, but Jordan's shot was blocked by Smith, who passed to Blaylock for a layup that cut the lead to 97-96.
When Pippen failed on a driving 6-footer from the right side, Andrew Lang hit a 10-footer from the left side to give the Hawks a 98-97 edge with 47 seconds to play.
"When I got the rebound with five seconds left, I admit I did a little dreaming," Jordan said. "It's been a long time since that's happened."
Blaylock came up with a steal for the Hawks, but Jordan blocked Smith's shot and later got the rebound off Lang's miss, calling a timeout with 5.9 seconds left.
On the game winner, Jordan moved in on Smith from above the free throw line, went up and hit the shot as the buzzer sounded.
"I saw it coming," Smith said. "I made the mistake of not denying him the ball on the inbounds. Once he gets a running start at you, it's hard to keep back-pedaling and to play good defense, because he can stop on a dime and pull up on you, which is what he did.
"He was a little rusty the first two or three games," Smith said. "He's getting his legs back. He's the greatest player ever."
Hornets 105, Cavaliers 97
At Charlotte, N.C., the Charlotte Hornets clinched the franchise's second playoff berth by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers behind Alonzo Mourning's 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Charlotte also secured a third straight season of .500 or better.
Cleveland, playing for the seventh time in 10 days, had won their previous two games and were led by Chris Mills' 26 points.
Pistons 104, Celtics 103
At Auburn Hills, Mich., rookie Grant Hill had a season-high 33 points and 16 rebounds and Oliver Miller's tap-in with three seconds left gave the Detroit Pistons a victory over the Boston Celtics.
The game had 15 second-half lead changes, including three in the final 17 seconds.
Allan Houston added 29 points for Detroit.
Nets 96, Heat 95
At Miami, Derrick Coleman hit two free throws with 25.4 seconds to play and the New Jersey Nets snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over the Miami Heat.
A 3-point basket by Glen Rice, who scored 30 points, gave Miami a 95-94 lead with 1:19 to go. After the teams swapped scoreless possessions, Coleman went up for a jumper and was fouled by John Salley.
Pacers 84, 76ers 75
At Philadelphia, Reggie Miller scored 27 points as the Indiana Pacers overcame a poor offensive performance against the Philadelphia 76ers with their sixth win in seven games.
The 76ers used an 8-4 run to open the fourth quarter, closing to 63-62 with 6:40 to play. But the Pacers pulled away, outscoring the 76ers 21-13 the rest of the way.
Shawn Bradley led Philadelphia, which has lost 10 of 11, with 23 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots.
Spurs 113, Bucks 105
At Milwaukee, David Robinson scored 27 points and Sean Elliott added 19 as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Milwaukee Bucks for their seventh straight victory.
The Bucks, who had won three games in a row, got 28 points from Glenn Robinson and 25 from Todd Day. With the loss, Milwaukee fell out of a tie for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
San Antonio has won 26 of its last 30 games and is 4-0 since forward Dennis Rodman, the NBA's leading rebounder, separated his shoulder in a motorcycle accident.