Coming down to the final game of the season Wednesday night, Orlando controls its own destiny for claiming the fourth playoff spot. A win over intrastate rival Miami, and the Magic are in. A loss, and both a Philadelphia win at Indiana, coupled with a Charlotte victory vs. Chicago gives the four spot to Philadelphia.
Troy Hudson scored 18 points and Tracy McGrady added 16 and seven rebounds for Orlando, which used a 6-0 run to take a 94-86 lead with 2:47 left.
"It was a team effort. Tonight, I got some things accomplished," said Orlando coach Doc Rivers. "Darrell Armstrong got some rest, and I got to use (Pat) Garrity off the bench. I gave him a little rest, but he probably played too many minutes. We wanted to win and rest at the same time."
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Magic-Hawks: 56k | 300k E.piphany of the Day: 56k | 300k T-Mac rarely fails to lead Orlando in scoring, but he did pull down 10 boards and added five steals. Scott Cunningham NBAE/Getty Images |
Terry, fouled driving the lane, jumped up and chased after Reid, slapping him in the back of the head. Reid retaliated, getting a shot in to Terry's head before he was restrained.
If I wanted to play for the Falcons, I would have signed up for it," Terry said. "I was going down the lane -- y'all saw the play & he tried to take me out. He could have grabbed me and made sure I didn't fall. It is what it is."
Reid maintained he got all ball.
"That's OK, I got all head when I retaliated," he said. "It was a dirty play all the way around. At this point in the season, you have to defend yourself. For me, whenever I see him again, its going to be personal."
Garrity scored 13 points, Patrick Ewing added 12 and Andrew Declercq netted 10 for Orlando, which shot 47 percent (39-of-83) and forced 21 turnovers while committing 13.
After Williams' jumper with 5:09 to play gave Orlando an 87-82 lead, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Jacque Vaughn made buckets to cut the deficit to one. But Hudson sank a free throw and Williams hit two from the line before Garrity's 3-pointer sealed with 2:47 gave the Magic a 93-86 edge.
Abdur-Rahim collected 23 poinst and Vaughn 14 for the Hawks, who shot 45 percent (39-of-87) from the floor and held a 54-37 rebounding edge.
The Magic took control in the beginning of the third quarter. After Nazr Mohammed tied the game at 50-50 19 seconds into the second half, Orlando went on a 15-3 run, capped by Hudson's jumper with 7:01 remaining.
"The guys were able to set the screen for me," Hudson said. "Our big guys did a great job of getting us open. It was a stretch down there where we needed to make a bucket, and I was the guy who wanted to step up and knock it down for us."
McGrady, hampered by a sore lower back, may not play Wednesday against the Miami Heat.
"Health is more important (than home-court) advantage, but I still believe my guys can go and get the win."







