CLEVELAND, Jan. 31 (Ticker) -- Even as a member of the Washington Wizards, Michael Jordan continues to break the hearts of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jordan hit a jumper as time expired and tallied 24 points as the Wizards overcame a 12-point deficit in the final quarter to post a 93-92 triumph over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"Everybody in the place knew where the ball was going," Jordan said. "We just executed a great play. I was surprised that I was that wide open."

As a member of the Chicago Bulls, Jordan pulled off similar last-second heroics to thwart the Cavaliers during the 1992 and 1993 playoffs.

NBA.comTV highlights from Wizards-Cavaliers: 56k | 300k In a scene witnessed many times before, Michael Jordan lines up the game-winning shot in Cleveland. David Liam Kyle NBAE/Getty Images

But perhaps the start of Jordan's legendary postseason career can be pinned down to May 7, 1989.

The Bulls were trailing the Cavaliers in the fifth and deciding game of their Eastern Conference first-round serie before Jordan nailed a last-second jumper to give Chicago a 101-100 triumph.

"It's hard to say," Jordan said when asked to compare Thursday's shot to the one in 1989. "It could be a similar play, it was at the free-throw line. But the ball was taken at the opposite side. So, either way you look at it, it's a win."

"He loves Cleveland," said Wizards coach Doug Collins, who coached the Bulls in 1989. "I just enjoyed to see the ball go through the hoop and then the buzzer sounded."

The five-time NBA Most Valuable Player also scored a career-high 69 points at Cleveland on March 28, 1990.

The Wizards were trailing by four, when Jordan fed Chris Whitney, who sank a 3-pointer with 1:02 left to cut the deficit to 90-89.

Jordan put the Wizards in front from the free-throw line. He converted a pair with 23.9 seconds to go and gave Washington a 91-90 edge.

Cavaliers center Chris Mihm seemed to seal the win with a layup that handed Cleveland a 92-91 lead with just 1.6 seconds remaining.

"There was a little mix-up on that play," said the 6-0 Whitney, who was guarding the 7-0 Mihm in the low post. "I was to guard Wesley Person and they set a good screen and threw Mihm the ball."

But following a timeout, Jordan got open off a screen and nailed a jumper from the free-throw line.

"We used (Richard) Hamilton as a decoy and Whitney went underneath in front of Jordan and (Popeye) Jones made a great pass. He just seems to find a way. They have great relievers in baseball, but Jordan is our closer."

The win was the Wizards' third in four games.

"That was a tough loss for us," Cavaliers coach John Lucas said. "We blew our assignments on the last play of the game. The absolute wrong man came up on Jordan, that beat us."

Person had 21 points for the Cavaliers, who suffered their 13th loss in the last 14 games.

Washington's Jahidi White and Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas were ejected with 7:17 left after shoving each other during a skirmish.

"We got a good chance after the White-Illguskas incident," Jordan said. "Unfortunately, those situations inspire teams and it inspired us more than them."

The Wizards scored the next 10 points following the ejections. Jordan capped the run with a fade-away jumper to give Washington an 86-85 lead with 4:42 left.