Tracy McGrady gave Orlando Magic fans trip down memory lane they
would probably rather forget.
McGrady scored 34 points with six assists Sunday and just about
single-handedly carried the Houston Rockets to a 97-93 victory over
the Magic.
It was vintage McGrady, who did pretty much the same thing for
Orlando during the four seasons he played for the Magic before
being traded to Houston in 2004. Though he hit only eight of 20
shots from the field, he got to the free throw line 18 times and
made three of six 3-pointers as Magic defenders chased him all over
the court.
"He's so good that teams have to put two or three guys on him
and when they go help, it gives guys like me, Rafer (Alston) and
Shane (Battier) free looks behind the 3-point line," Luther Head
said. "He's been doing it for us all season and tonight we were
making those open shots."
The Rockets went 14-for-27 from 3-point range for the game.
Head, Alston and Battier were a combined 11-for-20 from behind the
arc. Alston finished with 20 points and Head had 15, including a
3-pointer off an assist from McGrady that gave Houston a 93-88 lead
with 1:36 left in the game. Houston had not scored a field goal in
nearly 5 minutes before Head hit the clutch shot.
"That's pretty much who we are," McGrady said. "When teams
double me, my job is to make the right play for our team. We did a
great job of spacing the floor and getting open behind the 3-point
line. It's even sweeter when we're knocking the shots down."
The Magic, meanwhile, were not knocking many shots down. They
were just 5-for-20 from the field in the fourth quarter and shot
39.2 percent for the game. Orlando was 27-for-41 from the foul
line.
"It's discouraging to miss 14 free throws in a close game,"
Magic coach Brian Hill said. "We played hard, we played well
defensively, we've just got to find a way to break through and
obviously we have to make some free throws."
Grant Hill led Orlando with 21 points. Dwight Howard added 18
points and 16 rebounds, but the Magic struggled with their shooting
in their fourth straight loss.
The Rockets led 87-79 with 6:16 to go, but gave Orlando a chance
to rally by not hitting from the field for 5 minutes.
Trevor Ariza's two free throws with 1:57 to play cut it to
90-88, but Head ended the Rockets' drought with a 3-pointer.
Hill responded with a three-point play with 47 seconds
remaining, but McGrady's late jumper helped Houston hold on.
The Rockets made eight 3-pointers in the first half, including
back-to-back 3s from Alston and Head in the final 30 seconds, to
take a 51-39 lead at halftime.
Houston limited the Magic to 36.4 percent shooting in the first
half. Orlando's starting five went 8-for-26 in the first half, many
of the misses coming from inside the paint. Hill was the only
player to reach double figures in the half, scoring 11.
McGrady was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and hit all three free
throws to give Houston its biggest lead of the game at 63-50 with
7:01 left in the third quarter.
(China Daily via AP February 26, 2007)