Blue vs. White Scrimmage
October 5, 2002
By George Galante

Live from Jacksonville, Florida…it's Magic Saturday night!

Fans at the UNF Arena got a sneak peek at this season's Orlando Magic in a free public scrimmage. Approximately 1,000 people had the opportunity to see Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill together for the first time. And what a show they received.

The "Blue" and "White" teams played three mini-games, two 10-minute scrimmages and one five-minute session. The White squad came out on top in all three, 25-18, 14-12 and 16-11.

McGrady, who was named to the All-NBA First Team in 2001-02, was spectacular. He scored inside and out and had a game-best 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line.

Hill, coming back from his third ankle surgery in two seasons, gave the fans plenty of reasons to cheer with a solid all-around effort. The six-time All-Star recorded eight points, six rebounds and two assists.

Darrell Armstrong, the team's veteran, energetic point guard, also enjoyed a good outing, netting 12 points, including 3-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc. Following this evening's scrimmage, the team will hold one more practice before returning to Central Florida.

"This has by far been the best camp since I've been coaching here," said Magic Head Coach Doc Rivers. "The guy's have been very serious and have concentrated on the task at hand. They are serious about where we are going."

The Magic open the preseason on Tuesday, October 8 at Atlanta. The first home preseason contest will be on Thursday, October 10 vs. Atlanta. Tip-off at the TD Waterhouse Centre is 7 p.m. The regular season will begin on October 29 vs. Philadelphia, with a 7:30 p.m. start time.