Washington, DC (My Sportsbook) - Two teams that opened the 2002-03 NBA season with losses square off tonight when the Washington Wizards host the Boston Celtics at MCI Center.

Boston dropped a 99-96 decision to the Chicago Bulls at FleetCenter on Wednesday night. The Celtics led by as many as 13 points early in the third quarter and had a 74-62 lead before Chicago reeled off eight straight points. Boston had a 93-91 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the game, but Chicago's Trenton Hassell scored off a Jay Williams' assist to tie it with 2:59 to play. After a steal by Williams, Hassell drained a trey at 2:23 to give Chicago its first lead since the first quarter.

Paul Pierce paced the Celtics with 28 and Tony Delk added 23. Antoine Walker had 14 points and 11 rebounds, but made just one field goal in the second half and shot 5-for-23 overall -- 1-for-10 from behind the arc.

"We were getting what we wanted offensively," Walker said. "We were scoring the basketball. Then we missed some tough shots. I mean, I personally missed a lot of tough shots tonight, inside and outside. I missed a couple of open looks down the stretch that I usually would make."

Boston shot 47 percent from the floor for the game, but it made just 5-of-18 (28 percent) in the final quarter. More alarming, however, was the defensive end, where the Celtics allowed the Bulls to shoot 50 percent from the floor and turn 12 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points.

Washington had a tough night offensively on Wednesday. Michael Jordan had a forgettable night in the Wizards' 74-68 loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Jordan scored eight points off the bench -- all in the first half -- over 24 minutes of work. After missing two free throws with 4:06 left, he missed a breakaway dunk as the ball clanged off the back rim. The Air Canada Centre crowd let loose a hearty chuckle at Jordan, who turns 40 in February.

"I'm pretty sure everybody is going to look at the one play," Jordan said. "I felt like I exploded pretty good. I got hit on the knee, but I still should have finished it. Other than that I felt good."

Jordan finished 4-for-14 from the floor.

"I've never seen Michael miss a couple of free throws and a dunk late in the game like that. Normally, that's money in the bank," Washington coach Doug Collins said.

The one silver lining for Washington was the play of second-year forward Kwame Brown, who had a career-high 18 rebounds, 12 points and five blocks.

The Wizards had four new starters in the lineup, including Jerry Stackhouse, who paced the club with 19 points.

"There wasn't any chemistry," Jordan said. "For us to come out in the first game and expect to have everything clicking is kind of far-fetched."

Boston captured three of the four meetings with the Wizards last season with the one loss coming on the road in overtime. The Celtics have lost eight of their last 13 games at Washington, but have a commanding 155-87 lead in the all-time overall series.