ESPN Network: ESPN.com | NFL.com | NBA.com | NHL.com | WNBA.com | ABCSports | EXPN | FANTASY | INSIDER

  Scores/Schedules
  Standings
  Statistics
  Transactions
  Injuries
  Players
  Message Board
  NBA StatSearch
  NBA en espaņol
Clubhouses






Monday, Feb. 26 9:00pm ET
McGrady's 24 second-half points lift Magic

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

DENVER (AP) – With their homecourt advantage starting to disappear, the Denver Nuggets' playoff chances are following suit.

Tracy McGrady
The Magic's Tracy McGrady, right, looks for room around Nuggets guard James Posey.
Tracy McGrady scored 24 of his 36 points in the second half and had 12 rebounds as the Orlando Magic beat the Nuggets for the eighth straight time, 93-86 Monday night.

Denver (29-29) was two games behind first-place Utah on Jan. 28, but has since lost 11 of 14 to fall 4 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the eighth playoff spot in the West.

"We're already in the danger zone," Nick Van Exel said. "We've been in the danger zone for about three weeks now."

Darrell Armstrong had 11 points and seven assists to help the Magic overcome an early deficit and snap a three-game losing streak. Orlando gave up 30 first-quarter points before holding Denver to 56 the rest of the way.

"It was a funny-looking win," McGrady said. "We knew we had to get ourselves going because this was definitely a winnable game. It was a matter of us defending. I came out hot and everyone was playing aggressively on both ends."

Antonio McDyess led the Nuggets with 24 points and 21 rebounds.

Denver has lost three of five at home following a nine-game winning streak at the Pepsi Center. Two of the home losses have come to teams playing the second of back-to-back games. Orlando lost by six points to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

"Man, I just don't know what this is," McDyess said. "Frustration is at a level where you don't know what to do. Thinking about all the games we could've won and think about what you could have or should've done in the game is not helping. It's just making it a lot more frustrating."

The Nuggets led by 16 early, but trailed by as many as 15 in the third quarter before rallying in the fourth. They held the Magic to one field goal over a 10:45 span of the third and fourth quarters and tied the game at 80 with 5:36 remaining.

McGrady scored seven points as part of a 10-3 run as the Magic pulled away.

"It's nice having a star," Magic coach Doc Rivers said. "The reason we lost games last year was because we had nowhere to turn at the end of games. Now we have Tracy."

Raef LaFrentz finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and six blocks for Denver and Van Exel added 12 points and nine assists but committed a season-high seven turnovers.

"It was a terrible game by me, basically," said Van Exel, who was on the bench when Denver made a comeback in the fourth.

McGrady scored 13 points as part of a 24-6 run to open the second half as Orlando took a 15-point lead. The Nuggets countered with a 12-2 burst and held the Magic without a field goal over the final 5:09 of the third to pull to 72-67.

Denver led by as many as 16 in the first quarter, but the Magic recovered on the strength of a 17-3 run and trailed 49-46 at halftime.

"I thought the key to the game was in the first quarter when they got up, there was no sense of panic," Rivers said. "No guys were fighting amongst each other. We just kept playing."

Game notes
McDyess had 16 points and 10 rebounds by halftime for his 43rd double-double. Four Magic players have combined for 33 double-doubles. ... The Magic lost to the Lakers on Sunday in Los Angeles. Orlando improved to 7-4 in the second of back-to-back games. ... The Magic are 4-10 against Western Conference teams on the road. ... Denver failed to score 100 points for the 10th straight game. ... Orlando scored 21 points on 18 offensive rebounds.

Send this story to a friend
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Orlando Clubhouse

Denver Clubhouse


RECAPS
Boston 85
Seattle 82

Charlotte 82
Indiana 72

Milwaukee 98
Philadelphia 91

Golden State 84
Chicago 78

Portland 95
Houston 89

Orlando 93
Denver 86

Utah 99
Atlanta 82

Dallas 103
LA Clippers 92

AUDIO/VIDEO
video
 Antonio McDyess puts back the one-handed rebound.
avi: 671 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1


ESPN.com:  HELP |  ADVERTISER INFO |  CONTACT US |  TOOLS |  SITE MAP
Copyright ©2000 ESPN Internet Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Employment opportunities at ESPN.com.