BASKETBALL : Jordan's number comes up

Michael Jordan, the superstar of basketball, returned to wearing his famous No 23 shirt on Wednesday and immediately rediscovered his magic touch.

Yesterday, however, the NBA fined the Chicago Bulls player $5,000 and the team $25,000 for uniform violations during their game against Orlando Magic.

Jordan was fined for wearing non-conforming shoes. He played in primarily white trainers while the rest of the Bulls wore primarily black shoes. NBA rules stipulate that players must all wear the same colour shoes.

Jordan had been wearing No 45, the number his brother wore as a young player, since returning from an 18-month retirement in March. He had said he wanted to keep jersey 23 retired, as the final number his father saw him wear.

But after a disappointing first game for the Bulls against the Magic in the play-offs, Jordan switched to his old number with immediate effect. He scored 38 points, pulled down seven rebounds and made four steals to lead the Bulls to a 104-94 win, to tie the quarter-final best-of-seven series at one victory each.

Jordan took off in the second half, sinking 11 of 13 shots after missing 11 of 17 shots in the first half. Scottie Pippen, his team-mate, said: "They made him force his shots in the first half. He finally settled in and showed them what they are up against."