RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The game plan for the youthful Orlando
Magic was simple: Keep running and gunning until the older Seattle
SuperSonics ran out of gas.
|  | | Tracy McGrady, left, collides with the Sonics' Vin Baker while driving to the basket in the first quarter. |
"That's how it should be the whole year," rookie Mike Miller,
starting for the injured Grant Hill, said after the Magic overcame
poor shooting in the first three quarters to pull away for a 110-99
victory Monday night.
"We play eight, nine, 10 guys sometimes and if we can go up and
down the floor, we'll be fine," Miller added. "Things went well
after a bad first half. It was important that we came back like
that."
Tracy McGrady returned from serving a one-game suspension and
had 31 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals to lead
the Magic, who placed Hill on the injured list earlier in the day.
"I thought the pace was the reason we won the game," Orlando
coach Doc Rivers said. "If you looked at the third quarter, you
could just see it. We were not really doing well, but we were
running and you could clearly see Seattle had just stopped
running."
McGrady, who sat out Saturday night's win at Atlanta and was
also fined him $7,500 for slapping Philadelphia's Eric Snow the
previous night, made 11 of 21 shots and delivered 12 fourth-quarter
points to help Orlando stay ahead.
The Magic made 14 of 20 shots in the final 12 minutes after
shooting 38 percent (28-for-74) through the first three quarters.
Darrell Armstrong and John Amaechi each had 20 points, while
Michael Doleac finished with 17.
Seattle coach Paul Westphal said the difference was Orlando's
ability to force the tempo and create easy scoring opportunities
with 25 turnovers that led to 34 points.
"We know that they have a lot of aggressive athletes. They've
been pressing and trapping, and they were things that we were
vulnerable to," Westphal said.
Rashard Lewis led Seattle with 28 points. Gary Payton had 23
points and 10 assists, but Patrick Ewing was held to seven points
on 3-for-9 shooting as the Sonics were outscored at the center
position 37-9.
"It was a very tough loss for us," said Ewing. "The Magic
play hard every night. I know I got outplayed by Amaechi. We just
did not get the job done."
The Magic won for the second straight time without Hill, who was
put on the injured list to rehabilitate his left ankle, which he
broke during last season's playoffs. McGrady and Amaechi took up
the slack and Miller made two 3-pointers and a 13-foot jumper
during a 27-15 third-quarter surge.
As poorly as the Magic shot in the opening quarter (9-for-27, 33
percent), they were even worse in the second period (6-for-23, 26
percent). Despite shooting just under 40 percent, the Sonics led
45-40 at the half with Baker and Payton each scoring 10.
Miller scored eight of his 10 points in the third quarter,
helping the Magic take a 73-67 lead into the final period. It was
87-83 with just under seven minutes to go before McGrady and
Armstrong hit 3-pointers to begin a game-sealing 23-16 burst.
"We saw them getting a little bit tired and we kept running and
just took over the game," McGrady said. "We were patient on
offense and took what the defense gave us. That's what got us
through this game."
Game notes
With Hill out, Miller made his first pro start. He missed
his first four shots and finished 3-for-9 with six rebounds and two
assists in 32 minutes. ... Payton has started 319 consecutive
games, dating back to March 18, 1996, the longest active streak in
the NBA. The last game he missed was March 15, 1996, against Dallas
when he served a one-game suspension that snapped his career-high
consecutive games played streak at 354. ... Vin Baker had 13 points
and 10 rebounds for the Sonics.
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NBA Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
Orlando Clubhouse
Magic place hobbled Hill on injured reserve
RECAPS
Orlando 110
Seattle 99
Dallas 108
Denver 96
Utah 98
Minnesota 92
Vancouver 97
Atlanta 87
Sacramento 79
Portland 75
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Magic coach Doc Rivers felt the pace of the game would be the difference.
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