Jordan Pulls and Hamilton Pushes

National Basketball Association (NBA)’s Washington Wizards has completely established itself as a mighty team, after recording 5 consecutives victories recently.

At its center is the `basketball king` Michael Jordan, who made a comeback this season. However, it would have been impossible for Jordan to achieve this alone.

Another player is gaining attention, Richard Hamilton. Hamilton has been playing for Washington for 3 seasons since his professional debut, and has now become the team’s `No.2 shooter` after `Jordan’s million dollar- tutoring` on the court this season.

He scored 33 points to lead the team to victory against the Sacramento Kings by 108-101 at Washington’s MCI Center on the 8th. Washington recorded a total of 13 victories, with Hamilton playing in all the games, including 5 consecutive victories until the day since Hamilton’s return from injury. This proved that he is no less importance than Jordan for the team.

Washington was actually losing in the third quarter by 61-63, but Hamilton and Jordan led the team to score 30 points to 91-72 by the middle of the fourth quarter.

Jordan recorded a great performance of 25 points and 9 assists, while Popeye Jones also scored 18 points for his best record of the season.

The Toronto Raptors paid a high price with NBA’s superstar Vince Carter’s injury to beat San Antonio Spurs by 80-74. Carter, who had the most votes from this season’s All Star poll, injured his thigh muscle while trying to drive-in during the second quarter of the day’s game. As a result, he will not be able to take part in the All Star match on the 11th, and will also be unable to play on the court for 10 days.

Sang-Ho Kim hyangsan@donga.com