Jordan’s 36 Not Enough As Bulls Fall To Nets 99-98

“Air” Jordan took on a new meaning Friday night.

Michael Jordan shot an airball late in the fourth quarter when the Bulls had a chance to tie, and Xavier McDaniel hit four free throws in the final 16 seconds as the New Jersey Nets stunned Chicago 99-98.

“The last shot wasn’t my favorite,” Jordan said. “I thought I could create a foul but at the last moment I took the fadeaway. It was a dumb shot.”

The airball was an exception for Jordan, who was 16-of-34 from the field and scored 36 points.

“He’s human you know,” McDaniel said of Jordan’s missed fadeaway jumper from 15 feet that would have tied the game at 97 with 6 seconds left. “You don’t expect that from Black Jesus. But sometimes it happens.”

The win was the Nets’ first over a Jordan-led Bulls’ team since 1991, a string of 16 games. New Jersey beat Chicago in 1994 when Jordan was playing baseball.

“It’s not embarrassing to lose to them,” said Scottie Pippen, “but it’s embarrassing the way we played against them.”

Kenny Anderson and Arvydas Sabonis scored 20 points each to lead Portland to a 96-73 victory over Cleveland as the Trail Blazers extended the NBA’s longest current winning streak to eight games.

It’s the longest winning streak in six seasons for the Blazers, who last won eight in a row at the opening of the 1992-93 season. They have outscored their opponents by an average of 13 points during the streak.

Karl Malone scored 19 of his 38 points in the third quarter as Utah overcame a 10-point deficit to defeat the Indiana Pacers 105-96.

Malone recorded his 38th double-double of the season.

Rod Strickland, who arrived after halftime because of a flight delay, scored six points down the stretch to help the Washington Bullets pull away from the Milwaukee Bucks 105-96.

The Bullets, who have won five of their last seven games, won for the third time in four games against Milwaukee this season and held the Bucks to one point in the final 4:29.