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Magic-Pistons: 56k | 300k 
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The Magic appeared headed to their ninth loss in 11 games when Rod Strickland missed an open jumper and the battle for the rebound went out of bounds off newly acquired guard DeShawn Stevenson with 11 seconds to play.
Holding an 86-84 lead, the Pistons expected the Magic to foul after the inbounds pass. But Chauncey Billups had the ball stripped away by McGrady in the corner.
"I turned my back, he grabbed my arm, the ball is just sitting right there," Billups said. "He picked it up. Stupid, man, no call."
"That was clean," McGrady said. "I was going for the steal first and then I'd foul him, but I got all ball. He stumbled and I was able to get to the ball first."
Stevenson flipped a pass to Howard, who threw in a short shot with a Piston hanging on his arm. His free throw rattled in, giving the Magic the lead.
"I don't know how Juwan even got that up. They were all over him," McGrady said. "It's just like the whole game. It shows that you never give up, you keep fighting."
The stunned Pistons had a final chance and went to new acquisition Rasheed Wallace, whose jumper from the right wing was an airball. Wallace argued with referee Mike Callahan that he was fouled.
"I'm not going to shoot an airball like that at the end, but hey, one that they missed," Wallace said.
McGrady, the NBA's leading scorer, missed 16 of his first 17 shots before draining a pair of jumpers in the final three minutes. He scored 19 points on 3-of-20 shooting.
"I was just telling myself that it was going to be one of those nights," said McGrady, who was ejected from his last game for twice kicking the ball into the stands. "The shots weren't falling and they were coming after me every time I got the ball. So I knew I had to find other ways to contribute -- pass, rebound, play defense. I had to keep talking to myself so I didn't get frustrated."
"He kept playing and made plays for us down the stretch, especially with the big steal at the end," Magic coach Johnny Davis said. "He did a lot of other things than score to help us win the basketball game."
Howard scored 20 points despite a case of food poisoning for the Magic, who matched a season high with their third straight win.
Richard Hamilton scored 23 points, Billups added 15 and Ben Wallace 11, 13 rebounds and five blocks for the Pistons, whose last two losses have been by one point.
"When you've got the ball with 11 seconds to go and you get it to a 90 percent free throw shooter, I don't know what the answer is," Pistons coach Larry Brown said.
Rasheed Wallace scored 14 points but made just 5-of-17 shots. He played his first full game since being acquired from Atlanta three days ago.
"I'm trying to figure out how to use him," Brown said. "I don't think he's in great shape, to be honest with you. And we don't have a lot of stuff in right now that we all feel comfortable."
"I feel a little bit better," Rasheed Wallace said. "The only thing I've got to do is just learn the plays."
With Wallace and fellow newcomer Mike James playing well, the Pistons led by as many as 13 points in the first half before settling for a 48-41 halftime lead.
Detroit still held a 78-71 advantage before Drew Gooden made two free throws and McGrady sank a 21-footer with 4:22 to go. Billups made a free throw, but Stevenson sank a jumper and McGrady drilled a 3-pointer to give the Magic their first lead with 2:46 left.
Hamilton and McGrady swapped two free throws each before Hamilton made a lane jumper for an 83-82 lead with 1:53 remaining. Rasheed Wallace made a free throw, but Strickland tied it with a finger roll before two free throws by Billups gave Detroit an 86-84 advantage with 33 seconds remaining.
"The way this season's going, it feels good to beat anybody," McGrady said. "I couldn't care less if it's the Pistons or who-all."