(AP) Michael Jordan was in a zone the likes of which hadn't been seen in three years. He made 3-pointers, fadeaways, a dunk. He cut an 18-point deficit to two virtually by himself in the early minutes of the third quarter.

Then, worn out, he went to the bench for a chance to see if his Washington Wizards could finish the comeback without him. They couldn't.

By the time Jordan returned one minute into the fourth quarter, the Wizards were trailing the New Jersey Nets by 17. Jordan finished with 41 points Saturday night, but his team lost 102-95.

''It was big step for me personally,'' Jordan said. ''But it was a backward step for the team. . . . Hopefully the next time around I score 40 points, we'll win.''

Coach Doug Collins called the performance ''scary.'' The Wizards outscored the Nets by 16 when Jordan was in the game, but they were outscored by 23 when he was on the bench.