< Tracy McGrady shot 50 percent from the field, including 2-of-4 treys. Gary Bassing/NBAE/Getty Images |
One of Orlando's most impressive wins of the season came hours after DeVos announced that his franchise is for sale. The 75-year-old owner, who purchased the NBA team in September 1991, cited his age and a desire to spend time with his grandchildren as reasons for selling the team.
Magic players have promised that the sale would not affect the way they play on the court.
"I don't think it's going to be a distraction for us because, you know, basketball players are supposed to be short-sighted," Orlando forward Pat Garrity said.
The Magic scored the first 12 points of the third quarter to take a 73-54 lead. Miller started the spurt with a 3-pointer before Darrell Armstrong scored on a 14-foot jumper and a short shot from inside.
"We knew this team didn't play real good defense and if we let them stay in the game, keep it close, then they would have felt like they could win," Armstrong said. "We just turned it up in the quarter, got stops, and came out tough on them."
Horace Grant sank a pair of free throws and Miller had a 3-point play to increase the lead to 19 with 8:46 left in the period.
The Mavs did not have their first basket of the period until Juwan Howard connected with 8:09 remaining. McGrady, Grant and Miller answered with baskets, increasing the lead to 79-56 with six minutes left.
Miller put an emphatic end to the period with a dunk that made it 84-63. Orlando led by as many as 34 points at 102-68 on a basket by Andrew DeClercq with 8:33 left.
"I had a good feeling about the game. I don't know why but I just had a good feeling," Orlando coach Doc Rivers said. "You saw it as early at the shoot-around. I though the guys were really focused but that doesn't mean you're going to win the game."
Troy Hudson scored 21 points for Orlando, including 16 in the second quarter.
Howard scored 23 points and Wang Zhi Zhi had 13 off the bench for Dallas.
"Thank goodness it only counts as one loss," Dallas coach Don Nelson said. "It wasn't a very good effort on our part, but we've dodged about three or four bullets in the last seven or eight games, so you could kind of see this coming."
Center Shawn Bradley appeared for the first time in six games due to a thigh injury and played six minutes. Dallas is wihtout forward Michael Finley, who is on the injured lst.
Dirk Nowitzki, who came into the game averaging 23.6 points, was held to four on 1-for-8 shooting in 23 minutes.
"Nothing really went our way. The ball would go in and out," Nowitzki said. "They were more aggressive. It was one of those nights you have to forget about real quick."
McGrady, who missed a lopsided loss to Dallas on December 22, scored 20 of his points in the first half to help the Mavericks take a 61-54 lead at intermission.
McGrady sank a 3-pointer from the right sideline with 8:21 left in the second quarter to put the Magic in front to stay at 37-34.
Orlando built the lead as high as seven points on various occasions of the second quarter, the last coming on a pair of free throws by Hudson with 44 seconds left.