Washington

- Michael Jordan's memory of the Washington Wizards' loss to the Cavs in November didn't have much to do with the 19-point margin of victory.

His mind was focused on Cavs guard Ricky Davis.

"He was high-flying and dunking while they were up by 20 points [in a 94-75 win Nov. 27 in Cleveland] and those types of things don't go without being noticed," said Jordan about Davis. "It was one of those things that you didn't want to happen again, so the best way to do that was to get him in foul trouble and sit him down over there so he can watch us."

Davis and the Cavs received an eyeful.

Jordan avenged the Wizards' earlier loss to the Cavs, scoring 40 points during a 94-85 victory in front of a sellout crowd at the MCI Center last night.

Jordan became the second opponent to score 40 on the Cavaliers this season. Philadelphia's Allen Iverson scored 40 on Dec. 15.

Wes Person led the Cavs (13-29) with 19 points and Andre Miller had 11 points and 12 assists. Jumaine Jones added 13 points.

Despite Jordan's performance, Davis didn't back down.

"He told me that he remembered the last game," said Davis, who finished with seven points. "We're going to remember this when they come back to our place [next Thursday]. He got the win this time. Everyone's scared of him. I'm not. We need a win."

Desperately.

The Cavs' losing streak reached 11. It's the longest losing streak since the Cavs lost 11 during the 1990-91 season.

"We have to keep fighting and try to continue to improve," said Cavs coach John Lucas. "We have to find a way to win."

Person was on his way during the first quarter behind five straight jumpers. He was unstoppable. His last bucket of the quarter gave the Cavs a 24-19 lead. Person's 16 points during the period tied a team season high for most points in the first quarter. Jordan, however, was keeping pace, also scoring 16 first-quarter points.

The Wizards (20-20) poured water on Person's fire during the next three quarters. Person went scoreless during six minutes of the second quarter. Jordan, meanwhile, turned up the juice and his bucket with 27 seconds left before the half cut the Cavs' lead to 50-48.

The Cavs led by three early in the third but Jordan scored eight points during a 10-0 run for a 61-54 lead. A putback cut the Wizards' lead to five but Jordan had more answers. He started a run with a jumper followed by a pass underneath to Popeye Jones, who scored and was fouled. Jones nailed the free throw to complete the three-point play. Jones ended the 12-3 spurt with a layup for a 77-64 lead. Jumaine Jones' trey cut the Wizards' lead to 10 at the end of the quarter.

"We couldn't hit any of our shots during the third quarter," Lucas said. "We went from shooting 53 percent all the way down to somewhere in the 40s (42.9 for the game)."

A major factor was the Wizards' defense on Person.

"They paid more attention to me during the second half," Person said. "I saw a lot of different looks. When I was coming off screens they put different guys on me. I give them credit. They did a good job in the second half and I have to find a way to mature as a basketball player so when things happen like that again, I can find ways to make my shots."

The Wizards finished off the Cavs midway through the fourth. Jordan scored his last points on an alley-oop for a layup to give the Wizards an 86-74 lead with 5:32 left.

"Michael was outstanding," Lucas said. "We did a lot of things out of our help defense to try and make things difficult for him but he simply shot the ball extremely well."