The band N'SYNC was in the house and so too were Tampa Bay Buccaneers' linemen Warren Sapp and Kenyatta Walker. The electricity in the air clearly was evident and for just the second time this season every seat in the TD Waterhouse Center was sold.

Michael Jordan and his megawatt star power have that kind of impact on an otherwise ordinary early season NBA game.

Jordan, 25 games into his second return to the NBA, made his first appearance in Orlando Friday night since 1998. His championship days with the Chicago Bulls now a distant memory, Jordan returned with the Washington Wizards. Clearly deferring to his teammates, Jordan scored 12 points to lead the Wizards past the Magic 93-75 before a capacity crowd of 17,248.

"I had some great memories here, but I've had some bad ones too," Jordan said with a smile, clearly referring to 1995 when the Magic knocked the Bulls out of the playoffs. "It's always a good feeling to get the respect from the fans for what I've done over the years. It's been very appreciated the way the fans all around the league have paid their respects, but I know they still have their loyalties to their own teams."

Already, Jordan's comeback has been filled with plenty of drastic highs and lows. The Wizards started the season 2-9 and were a disappointing 5-12 two weeks ago following back-to-back lopsided losses to Orlando and San Antonio. But the Wizards came to Orlando having strung together seven consecutive victories, not losing since Jordan missed one game with a knee injury.

Individually, Jordan's return also has received mixed reviews. Jordan ranks 11th in the NBA in scoring (23.5 points a game), but he entered Friday's game shooting a career-worst 40.6 percent from the floor. Looking every bit of his 38 years of age, the six-time NBA champion has struggled with his health and the losing this season.

"A lot of the expectations on me were based on 1998, and that was a different makeup and a past life in some senses," Jordan said. "I came down (from the Wizards front office) to help change the momentum and attitude of this franchise. I knew we wouldn't start 17-2 and would go through some difficult stretches, but I wanted to teach these young kids what winning is all about. If I can pass that along, it can be a real turn-around for this franchise."

Dozens of flashbulbs popped each time Jordan touched the ball Friday night. But he failed to live up to his legend in the first half, missing his first seven shots. Jordan was just 2 of 11 from the floor in the first two quarters. He finished 3 of 16 from the field, but he made all six of his free-throw attempts.