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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The Tracy McGrady & Grant Hill Show got
off to a successful, if not spectacular, start in Orlando.
McGrady scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds
in his debut for his new team Tuesday night, leading the revamped
Magic to a sloppy 97-86 victory over the Washington Wizards.
|  | | Tracy McGrady dunks as Rod Strickland looks on. McGrady dazzled in his Magic debut with a career-high 32 points. |
"I was feeling it, really feeling it," McGrady said. "It was
the first regular-season game. I was feeding off the fans, I was
feeding off my teammates. I was just pumped and ready to go."
Hill, still hobbling after offseason ankle surgery, was held to
nine points on 3-for-6 shooting but finished with 10 assists, five
rebounds and two steals before limping to the bench for good with
4:06 to go.
By then, the Magic were in command -- thanks to McGrady, who led
a 15-4 run that enabled the Magic to pull away from a 66-66 tie.
"A win is a win. It was ugly at times, there's things that we
need to work on, but I think it was pretty good," Hill said. "You
don't want to come out peaking, playing your best. You want to play
well, you want to give the fans something to cheer about, but it'll
be a little scary if we were at our peak the first night."
McGrady, who played in the shadow of Vince Carter in Toronto the
past two seasons, was 11-for-25 from the field and 8-for-11 at the
foul line. He also had four assists and blocked three shots.
"I have never seen him in that situation," Washington's Mitch
Richmond said. "He is taking over the game now and getting a lot
of opportunities."
Felipe Lopez led the Wizards with 16 points. Juwan Howard had 12
and Richmond and Rod Strickland added 10 each for Washington, which
hurt itself with 27 turnovers that Orlando converted into 28
points.
"It's hard to recover from 16 turnovers in the first half. That
was our Achilles' heel tonight," said first-year Wizards coach
Leonard Hamilton. "The fortunate thing about the NBA is that you
don't have a lot of time to lament a loss. We have a chance
(Wednesday night) to redeem ourselves."
Despite its surprising 41-41 finish last season, Orlando
suffered offensively because of the absence of a bona fide go-to
guy who could be counted on for scoring. That should no longer be a
problem with the addition of Hill and McGrady.
The Magic led the league in scoring during the preseason,
playing the same uptempo style that thrives on easy baskets created
by defensive pressure. They built a 15-point first-half lead
against the Wizards, forcing 16 turnovers before faltering in the
closing minutes of the second quarter to allow Washington to close
within 54-49 at the break.
It was 71-68 going into the fourth quarter, and McGrady scored
11 of his team's first 19 points in the final period to help the
Magic stay ahead.
"I was just trying to play good defense and get the ball to
Tracy. That was my objective when I was out there in the second
half," said Hill, who took only two shots and scored two points in
the second half.
"But it felt good. You want to be out there, you want to play.
It's tough to sit and watch. We did a good job, but we can do
better."
Game notes
Hill's wife, Tamia, sang the national anthem and the
Florida A&M University marching band performed during pregame
festivities and at halftime. ... The Wizards have lost six straight
to the Magic. ... Richmond needs seven points to move past Bernard
King and into 25th place on the career scoring list. ...
Washington's Popeye Jones fractured the index finger on his left
hand in the third quarter. X-rays were taken at the arena.; Jones will be re-examined at a later date. ... The attendance was announced at
13,349, nearly 4,000 below capacity.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Washington Clubhouse
Orlando Clubhouse
Magic have no complaints after Hill plays well in debut
Wizards' Strickland charged in restaurant dispute
Wizards waive 11-year veteran Harvey Grant
RECAPS
Charlotte 106
Atlanta 82
Cleveland 86
New Jersey 82
Orlando 97
Washington 86
Dallas 97
Milwaukee 93
Philadelphia 101
New York 72
Detroit 104
Toronto 95
Sacramento 100
Chicago 81
Minnesota 106
Houston 98
San Antonio 98
Indiana 85
Utah 107
LA Clippers 94
Golden State 96
Phoenix 94
LA Lakers 96
Portland 86
Vancouver 94
Seattle 88
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