In the aftermath of their preseason victory Saturday night over the Washington Wizards, the Nets talked of how they believed they had acquitted themselves well in front of a national television audience.

And they had, bending like a pretzel in the third and fourth quarters but never snapping and sending salt flying all over the floor as they did on so many occasions last season. Too bad the only thing that TV audience took away from the 102-95 victory was the virtuoso 41-point performance by the man who used to rule his sport and, against the Nets, showed he might very well be capable of staking a claim to his throne once again.

Shaking off the dust and the rust, Michael Jordan -- who will meet the Nets again tomorrow night in an exhibition game in Greenville, S.C. -- made 15 of his 24 shots and almost single-handedly made the Wizards a winner. But without even a little help from his friends -- he was the only Wizard with more than eight points -- Jordan grew tired and the Nets, with just one starter on the floor in the fourth quarter, skipped town with the victory.