With Michael Jordan providing the steady hand, Richard Hamilton, Popeye Jones and the rest of Jordan's backup band led the Washington Wizards to a convincing 90-76 home-opening victory over the injury-depleted Philadelphia 76ers last night before a rocking sellout crowd of 20,674 at MCI Center.

The possible coming-of-age performance, in which Washington held the 76ers to 33 second-half points, featured the players who will have to buoy the 38-year-old Jordan if the Wizards are to build on winning two of their first three games.

Hamilton had a game-high 29 points -- 11 in a momentum-swinging, 13-0 third-quarter run. Point guard Chris Whitney added 12 points. Backup guard Courtney Alexander finished with 11. And though Jones scored two points, he grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and rendered Philadelphia center Dikembe Mutombo almost invisible in the second half, holding him to six points, 10 overall.