Jordan leads Wizards to win

Michael Jordan was a little sluggish in the fourth quarter, but he still scored 31 points as the Washington Wizards won their first game of the season 98-88 over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.

Jordan in his second game in more than three years, started strongly with 11 points in the first quarter and had 19 at the half -- his total against the New York Knicks in his first game back from retirement on Tuesday.

With Washington holding a 90-86 lead and 51 seconds left, Jordan drew a double-team on the wing and passed it to a wide-open Chris Whitney, who drilled a three-pointer to seal the win.

Richard Hamilton finished with 22 points and Whitney chipped in 16 for Washington, which shot 44 percent (39-of-88) from the field. Popeye Jones added nine points and 13 rebounds.

Jason Terry led Atlanta with 23 points.

MAVERICKS TRIUMPH

In Philadelphia, Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 99-92 victory over the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers.

Nowitzki was too quick for Derrick Coleman as he often used his dribble to go around the slower power forward. When Coleman backed off, Nowitzki drilled the outside shot, including three 3-pointers.

Nowitzki made 10-of-17 shots. He scored 13 points in the second quarter, when Dallas took the lead for good. He added nine more in the final period, helping to turn back a rally by the pesky 76ers.

Steve Nash scored 22 points and Tim Hardaway added 17 for the Mavericks, who led by as many as 18 points as they improved to 2-0 for the second straight season.

Matt Harpring scored 21 points and Dikembe Mutombo 19 and 16 rebounds for the Sixers, who again played without injured guards Allen Iverson, Aaron McKie and Eric Snow.

In Memphis, Tennessee, Jerry Stackhouse scored 13 of his 34 points in the final four minutes as the Detroit Pistons rallied for a 90-80 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, playing their first game in their new city.

The Grizzlies, in the first shift of an NBA franchise in 16 years, moved to Memphis after six fruitless years in Vancouver.

In pre-game ceremonies, Grizzlies starting center and native son Lorenzen Wright asked the crowd for support, saying, "We want you guys to be the best fans in the NBA."

Musician Isaac Hayes performed "America The Beautiful" and 'N Sync member Justin Timberlake -- another local -- sang the national anthem.

The Grizzlies carried the momentum to a 48-36 lead early in the second half, but the Pistons rallied to take a 61-60 lead into the fourth quarter before turning the game over to Stackhouse.

WASTEFUL NUGGETS

In Denver, Ervin Johnson's free throw with one second left -- his only point of the game -- gave the Milwaukee Bucks a 102-101 victory over the Denver Nuggets, who wasted 44 points by Nick Van Exel.

With the score tied at 101-101, Sam Cassell turned the ball over with 12 seconds left. George McCloud went in for a layup that was blocked by Glenn Robinson with six seconds to go.

Cassell saved the ball from going out of bounds by throwing it upcourt to Anthony Mason, who led a 3-on-1 fast break. Mason dished to Johnson, who was hammered by former Buck Scott Williams.

Johnson, a former Nugget, made the first but airballed on the second, giving Denver one final chance. After a timeout, Van Exel took the inbounds pass, dribbled twice and failed to get a long shot off as time expired.

Ray Allen made 8-of-9 3-pointers and scored 31 points to lead Milwaukee.

In Salt Lake City, Kobe Bryant scored 39 points, but it was his clutch play on the defensive end in the final minute that might have saved the Los Angeles Lakers.

With Shaquille O'Neal on the bench after fouling out, Bryant blocked a shot by Karl Malone with 20 seconds remaining as the Lakers held on for a 105-101 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Utah closed to 103-101 on Donyell Marshall's three-point play with four seconds left, but Bryant made two from the line with a second remaining to clinch the win.

John Stockton scored 19 points and Malone added 16 for the Jazz.

FRANCIS FIRES

In Houston, Steve Francis had 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as he powered the Rockets to a 98-92 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Francis took over in the extra period, collecting six points, two assists and a clutch rebound.

Elton Brand paced the Clippers (0-2) with 26 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. With 15 seconds left in regulation, he hit a driving layup to tie it, 86-86.

Francis had a chance to win the game but missed a jumper from just inside the 3-point line at the buzzer.

Neither team scored until Houston's Kevin Willis hit two free throws with 2:22 to go. Houston was clinging to a 90-89 lead with less than 1:30 remaining when Francis hit a jumper from the top of the key, pulled down a rebound of Eric Piatkowski's miss and nailed a floater in the lane to give the Rockets a 94-89 lead.

Backcourt mate Cuttino Mobley added a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds for Houston. Backup center Willis added 12 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.