Michael Jordan missed his first 14 shots on the way to his first four-game losing streak in almost 12 years. By the end of the game, all he could do was laugh at his own misery.

Jordan scored a season-low 16 points on 5-for-26 shooting in the Washington Wizards' 99-84 loss Sunday to the Seattle SuperSonics. Gary Payton led the Sonics with 32 points.

''It was probably one of the worst shooting nights I've had in my career,'' Jordan said. ''I had great shots.''

Among Jordan's misses were an easy alley-oop he decided not to dunk, two reverse layups and an open jumper the Sonics' Brent Barry practically dared him to shoot. When Jordan made his first basket, a tip-in with 4:17 left in the third quarter, the fans gave him a long standing ovation.

By the fourth quarter, Jordan was shaking his head and laughing at his own shooting and his teammates' assorted bloopers. He saved his serious words for referee Leroy Richardson, who slapped Jordan with a technical foul with 19 seconds left.

''You miss a few, and it starts working on you mentally,'' Jordan said. ''You start trying to find the mechanics and get more technical during the course of the game, and that's the worst way to come out of a shooting slump. You get confused. You try to get free throws, you try to get layups, you try to get simple things to get your rhythm back. I really couldn't do that tonight.''

Jordan's record streak of consecutive games with at least 10 points, which now stands at 847, was in jeopardy until he made a couple of jump shots to start a fourth-quarter rally. The Wizards cut a 25-point deficit to seven, but it wasn't enough to prevent Jordan from losing a fourth consecutive game for the first time since February 1990 with the Bulls.

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Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City

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