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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- If Milwaukee's 101-89 victory over the
Orlando Magic on Monday night was a playoff preview, their
first-round matchup could be a very short series.
|  | | Orlando's John Amaechi has the ball stripped away by Milwaukee's Sam Cassell, left and Ervin Johnson.
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The Bucks continued their domination of the Magic, winning their
ninth in a row against Orlando, as Glenn Robinson scored 19 points
to lead six players in double figures.
"We feel like we'll match up well against them in the
playoffs," said Scott Williams, who had 12 points and tied a
season-high with 14 rebounds. "They just don't have the firepower
necessary to last 48 minutes with us."
But Milwaukee coach George Karl expressed uncertainty about how
much the Bucks' mastery would help them in the playoffs.
"Beating this team for two years doesn't mean anything next
week," he said.
Tracy McGrady's 26 points topped the Magic, who will be the
seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, cementing a
first-round matchup against the Bucks. Orlando had an outside
chance of capturing the sixth seed, but needed victories in its final
two games while Toronto lost twice.
"The sweep, we're going to put that behind us," McGrady said.
"We've got to concentrate, execute, defend and we've just got to
believe we can beat them."
Lindsey Hunter, who had 10 of his 15 points after halftime, put
the Bucks ahead for good late in the third quarter with five
consecutive points. And his 3-pointer with 7:01 left gave
Milwaukee an 88-76 lead.
After Orlando cut its deficit to seven points, Jason Caffey
scored the first four points of an 8-2 run that secured the
victory. Caffey had seven of his 11 points in the quarter, while
Ervin Johnson had six of his 13 in the fourth.
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Beating this team for
two years doesn't mean anything next week. ” |
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— Milwaukee coach George Karl on the playoff matchup with
Orlando |
Behind Hunter, Johnson and Caffey, Milwaukee's reserves
outscored Orlando's 45-25.
"I really feel that we can beat that team, but we're not going
to beat them if we let their other guys besides (Sam) Cassell, Big
Dog (Robinson) and Ray Allen get off," McGrady said.
Milwaukee appeared to seize control late in the second quarter
by scoring 11 consecutive points. Darvin Ham had all six of his
points in the run, and his flying layin put the Bucks ahead 51-36
1:07 before halftime.
But Orlando stormed back to begin the third quarter, going on a
20-6 tear. Andrew DeClerq scored six consecutive points, and McGrady's
long jumper from the right baseline tied the score at 59 with 6:08
left in the period.
"I don't think we played with much fundamental focus in that
period of time," Karl said. "I thought we played somewhat lazy."
Orlando drew a crowd of 17,248, its sixth sellout of the year
and third in a row.
Game notes
Referees called four lane violations on free throws. ...
Orlando point guard Darrell Armstrong, activated from the injured
list Sunday, didn't play, but would see action against Miami on
Wednesday, Magic coach Doc Rivers said. Armstrong has missed seven
games since being sidelined with a strained groin. ... Magic center
Michael Doleac did not dress, missing his fifth consecutive game with
a sprained left ankle .... McGrady, with 27.1 points a game, has
the highest scoring average in NBA history for players who ended a
season 21 years old or younger. Ranking second is Bernard King, who
scored 24.2 a game for New Jersey in 1977-78. ... Members of the rock
band Creed were in attendance.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Orlando Clubhouse
RECAPS
Charlotte 106
Atlanta 83
Cleveland 80
New York 78
Milwaukee 101
Orlando 89
Dallas 110
Golden State 101
LA Clippers 100
Phoenix 80
Sacramento 110
Vancouver 100
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Tracy McGrady strips Glenn Robinson and takes it to the hoop for an Orlando basket.
avi: 499 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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