Michael Jordan came back to play basketball in Charlotte for the first time in 31/2 years Wednesday night in the Charlotte Hornets' 99-93 win against the Washington Wizards.

Some of the time, it seemed like nothing had changed.

Jordan scored the game's first basket, his jump shot still as soft as a spoon cutting through flour. He pushed his teammates, angrily chomped his gum and scored a game-high 28 points.

On the day after Christmas, he drew a sellout crowd of 23,799 to the Charlotte Coliseum - where the actual turnstile count had averaged an embarrassing 7,563 through the first 10 home games.

Some of the time, it seemed like everything had changed.

Jordan never dunked. He missed 17 of his 28 shots. He fumbled the ball away in the game's final 20 seconds with his team down four points. Ultimately, his team lost.

Jordan responded to the loss - the Wizards' first in the past 10 games - the way he always has responded to losses. He couldn't stand it. He sounded almost venomous when he commented on the Hornets' success in occasionally using a defensive zone to contain the Wizards.

"Zones are a lazy way to play defense," Jordan said. "I've never liked them."

Jordan remains as ultra-competitive as ever. He was angry at himself for the late miscue - "Turnovers hurt us down the stretch and I was a big culprit," he said.

But in other, obvious ways, "Michael Jordan III" is a lot different than the first two incarnations of the favorite son of North Carolina.

In Jordan's original collegiate and NBA careers and during his first comeback, he looked otherworldly more often. Now he looks far more human - a talented but vulnerable player who will turn 39 in February.

It's nearly impossible not to root for him. He's a hero to nearly everyone, he's from around these parts and he's not afraid to fail.

He can still bring the total package - the oohs, the points and the ticket sales. The female MJ - Olympic track star Marion Jones - was among those who came to pay homage to Jordan on Wednesday night.

It was interesting to listen to the enthusiastic, conflicted crowd. The best example of the fans' inner clash came when Jordan shot his first free throw in the first quarter, having already ripped off eight early points.

A few fans under the basket half-heartedly drummed long balloons together in a vain attempt to make Jordan miss. But far more pointed instant cameras toward Jordan and popped their flashbulbs - his free-throw swish was captured from a hundred different angles throughout the Coliseum.

Some of those who loved Jordan had worried he would be a sad sideshow in this NBA season, and some of those fears looked well-founded when the Wizards opened the season 2-9. But with Jordan providing 23 points a game and loads of coaching tips, the Wizards had scalded their way to nine straight wins before the Charlotte game.

When Wizards coach Doug Collins was asked before the game what had surprised him about this latest Jordan comeback, he said: "How patient he was early. He was really the voice of reassurance, that we were going to get better and start winning games. A lot of people thought Michael would be a guy who couldn't deal with that."

Jordan instead dealt well with the Wizards' early losses, and now he seems to be having a great time coaxing a band of underdogs toward the playoffs.

An hour before tipoff, Jordan was hanging out with his teammates. He still had a hoop earring dangling from his left earlobe, and he was still wearing a dapper gray shirt and jet-black tie that would have been at home in the boardrooms he used to frequent.

Jordan sipped a cup of coffee and appeared totally at ease, teasing Hubert Davis and Brendan Haywood about Chapel Hill days.

After the game, he was different. Still polite, but less approachable. Irritated.

Basketball still matters so much to Jordan.

Thankfully, nothing has changed about that.