ORLANDO, Fla., March 8 (Ticker) -- Whether Michael Jordan is around or not, Tracy McGrady loves playing against the Washington Wizards.

McGrady scored a career-high 50 points, including the go-ahead basket with 12 seconds to play, as the Orlando Magic snapped a four-game losing streak with a 99-96 victory over the Jordan-less Wizards.

"I felt good tonight," McGrady said. "I told my boys before I left the house I was getting at least 40 tonight. And I came out, shot was feeling good, legs were feeling fresh and I was excited to be back home, in front of the home crowd."

McGrady made 18-of-29 shots and 10-of-15 free throws as he passed his previous career high of 49, set April 13, 2001 against the Wizards.

NBA TV highlights from Wizards-Magic: 56k | 300k Tracy McGrady exults in his career-high 50 points. Tony Firriolo NBAE/Getty Images

"I was getting good looks and surprised they didn't double at all," McGrady said. "If they're not going to double when I'm rolling like that, give me the ball."

When Jordan announced his comeback, McGrady said he had circled his first game against Washington on the calendar. On December 5, he thoroughly outplayed Jordan in a 102-74 road victory.

Jordan wasn't around for this one, missing his sixth straight game following knee surgery. But McGrady still found the motivation to excel, especially down the stretch.

"You could see it in his eyes tonight," said teammate Darrell Armstrong. "I haven't seen him like that in a long time. He was ready to play."

Asked if McGrady had a Jordanesque performance, Magic forward Pat Garrity said, "I don't like Jordanesque. There's only one of those guys. But hopefully he's starting a new thing, so down the road they'll say it was T-Macesque."

After a free throw by Courtney Alexander gave Washington a 96-96 tie with 33 seconds to go, McGrady took the inbounds pass and milked the clock with a dribble. He drove right, got a pick and elevated over Alexander for a hanging eight-footer that gave Orlando the lead.

"I just took it and went to the hole strong," McGrady said. "I thought Popeye (Jones) was going to commit and I could just dump it off to whoever was in the corner, but he didn't."

"The best part of his layup at the end was that he just took it full blast," Magic coach Doc Rivers said. "He never broke stride and his thought was, I have to get to the basket and someone is going to have to make a great play to stop me."

Tyronn Lue missed a lane jumper and McGrady pulled down his 10th rebound before being fouled with eight-tenths of a second left. He split the free throws, but Chris Whitney's potential tying 3-pointer was short at the buzzer.

"It was an open shot, a shot I know I can definitely make," said Whitney, who was 0-of-6 from the field. "Unfotunately, tonight it was a little short."

The Wizards fell to 2-4 without Jordan, their leading scorer and best clutch player. The last two losses have come down to the final seconds, where Jordan always has excelled.

"We're in new territory now, because Michael was our crutch at the end of games," Wizards coach Doug Collins said. "We were always able to go to him and we were always able to get great respect from the officials, which is critical late in a game."

"We can't just be sitting around for the day he comes back," added Washington center Brendan Haywood. "We have to go out and play. If we want to make the playoffs, we have to get it done."

Richard Hamilton scored 26 points for Washington, which is tied with Charlotte for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Armstrong and Monty Williams scored 10 points each for the Magic, who returned from a four-game road trip. They lost forward Mike Miller to a sprained ankle six minutes into the game.

"Without Mike and the fact that Horace (Grant) was struggling, T-Mac had to score every point for us, and he did," Rivers said.

McGrady made four 3-pointers and scored 28 points in the first half, helping Orlando open a 59-47 lead. But the Magic shot just 37 percent and were outrebounded 14-5 in the third quarter as the Wizards closed to 78-73 entering the final period.

A rainbow jumper by Alexander with 6:05 to go gave Washington its first lead at 90-88. Richard Hamilton followed with a three-point play before McGrady hit a pair of baskets around Garrity's jumper, giving Orlando a 94-93 lead with 3:03 left.

Hamilton made two free throws with two minutes to go and again McGrady answered, making a jumper for a 96-95 lead with 1:12 to play.

"A leader's got to lead," McGrady said. "Fifty would not have meant anything if we had lost. Getting 50 and breaking a four-game losing streak just feels good."

Alexander scored 13 points for Washington, which shot 46 percent (38-of-82) and held a 47-36 rebounding edge. Orlando shot 50 percent (38-of-76).