|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
MIAMI (AP) – With less than week left in the regular season, the
Orlando Magic finally showed they can beat the Miami Heat.
|  | | Tracy McGrady scored 24 points in only 26 minutes of a romp past Miami. |
Tracy McGrady scored 24 points and the Orlando Magic avenged two
lopsided losses to their intrastate rivals earlier this season by
winning 90-73 Sunday.
"I was starting to feel like we weren't going to beat them,"
McGrady said. "You look at our last few games against them and
they weren't even close."
Miami turned in a slipshod performance without point guard Tim
Hardaway, who went on the injured list before the game because of a
bruised left foot. He'll sit out the final two regular-season
games, but coach Pat Riley said he expects Hardaway to be ready for
the start of the playoffs.
Riley said Hardaway's absence wasn't a factor in the loss, and
he praised the Magic's interior defense.
"This was the best game I've seen a team play against us,"
Riley said. "They were so good they mitigated anything we could
have done."
Mike Miller scored 21 points for the Magic, who had lost their
two previous games against Miami this season by 22 and 26 points.
The Heat trailed by 26 in the third period and finished with 23
turnovers.
The Magic clinched at least the No. 7 seed in the Eastern
Conference playoffs, meaning they won't have to face Atlantic
Division champion Philadelphia in the first round. There's a slight
chance Orlando will meet the Heat in the opening round.
"Now there's something in the back of their mind that tells
them we can beat them," Miller said. "They're not as invincible
as they were before."
The Heat remain one game ahead of the New York Knicks in the
race for No. 3 seed.
Miami's Alonzo Mourning, starting for the first time this
season, had six points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes. It was his
11th game after missing the first 69 games because of a kidney
ailment.
"We just didn't show up," Mourning said. "This time of year,
that approach to a game is not acceptable, and I put a lot of the
blame on my shoulders."
Anthony Carter and Eddie House filled in for Hardaway and had no
assists until the fourth quarter. Teammates Brian Grant, Eddie
Jones, Dan Majerle and Bruce Bowen went a combined 2-for-16.
McGrady, who had a career-high 49 points Friday against
Washington, went 11-for-20 in 26 minutes.
Pat Garrity scored seven consecutive points during a 13-1 run
that put Orlando ahead 44-27. The Magic led 53-34 at halftime,
thanks to 55 percent shooting and 12 Heat turnovers.
When Miller's 3-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes left in the third period
made it 66-40, fans booed the Heat. At 82-56 with 10 minutes
remaining, the crowd began streaming for the exits.
"It's amazing what happens when you come out with a force,"
Garrity said. "The great thing was that when we blew it open in
the second quarter, we didn't stop. We even extended it.
"We knew they were not at full strength without Tim Hardaway,
but it is a nice feeling to know that we can beat them."
The victory capped a strange week for the Magic, with wins over
Philadelphia and Miami but losses to Cleveland and Washington.
Said McGrady: "I don't understand this team sometimes."
Game notes
Magic guard Darrell Armstrong (groin strain) was activated
from the injured list before the game but did not play. Orlando is
3-3 in his absence. ... The teams meet again in the season finale
Wednesday at Orlando. ... The Magic, who had lost three consecutive
road games, snapped the Heat's three-game home winning streak.
 Send this story to a friend
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Orlando Clubhouse
Miami Clubhouse
Heat put Hardaway on IR, say he'll be back for playoffs
RECAPS
Philadelphia 89
New York 82
Boston 95
New Jersey 88
Cleveland 106
Washington 98
Orlando 90
Miami 73
Indiana 93
Chicago 86
Minnesota 107
Utah 100
Phoenix 88
Sacramento 86
LA Lakers 105
Portland 100
Charlotte 99
Detroit 90
Dallas 107
Seattle 99
|
