Jordan scored 32 points against Golden State, but Washington lost 109-100. It was one of those nights that summarized the beginning of the comeback well: the individual production kept appearing; the team's stability, considerably less so.
Jordan made 13 of 30 field-goal attempts and 6 of 8 free throws, adding three rebounds and three assists. Richard Hamilton contributed 16 points, but the Wizards never found enough balance to sustain the game.
Golden State had more distributed answers. Antawn Jamison and Larry Hughes scored 26 points each, while Danny Fortson finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds. The Warriors led by as many as 20.
The problem was not finding out whether Jordan could still score. By November that was already fairly clear. The question was whether Washington could become a team around him before the calendar answered for them.