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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SEATTLE (AP) -- Grant Hill is back, but he's not the same Hill
who was a five-time All-Star for the Detroit Pistons.
With Gary Payton scoring 21 points and Ruben Patterson adding
18, the Seattle SuperSonics beat Hill and the Orlando Magic 97-92
Tuesday night.
Hill returned to the Magic lineup Monday night in a defeat to the
Clippers in Los Angeles after a 17-game absence. He finished with
nine points and eight assists before leaving the game Tuesday night with 1:39 to go and Seattle ahead 92-87.
"I thought Grant struggled a little bit in the second half
running," Orlando coach Doc Rivers said. "That's why I took him
out toward the end."
Hill had surgery on his left ankle in April. He had 19 points
against the Clippers and played 39 minutes against the Sonics.
"In the first half, he looked great," Rivers said. "In the
second half, his ankle got sore and we really were just using him
as a decoy for the most part."
Hill admitted after the game he was discouraged.
"My ankle felt good in the first quarter, but as we got into
the third and fourth quarters, it got sore," he said. "It was
hurting a lot and I was a liability out there for our ballclub."
He said he told Rivers to pull him out of the game.
"That's the first time I've ever done that in a regular season
game," he said. "It's frustrating to say the least."
Seattle's players were sympathetic with Hill's plight.
"He's still not the same," Patterson said. "You can see his
ankle is still bothering him. He's been out for a long time. But
once he gets his ankle back to 100 percent, he'll be back to the
old Grant."
The Sonics, who had dropped two consecutive home games, yielded
58 points in the first half and 34 in the second.
"We just played more aggressive defense," Seattle's Rashard
Lewis said. "We need to play defense like that more often."
The Sonics limited the Magic to 13-for-39 shooting in the second
half.
"We needed to play better defense in the second half,"
Seattle's Vin Baker said. "We've been talking all week that we
need to hold our home serve."
The Sonics got two baskets from Payton in the final three
minutes.
Payton went around Tracy McGrady and scored on a layup with 2:38
remaining to give the Sonics a 90-87 lead. He sank a 10-footer with
58.9 seconds to go to put Seattle ahead 94-87. Payton also hit a
3-pointer in the final quarter.
Darrell Armstrong led the Magic with a season-high 25 points,
while McGrady scored 20.
Ahead 76-75 after three quarters, the Sonics scored the first
seven points of the final period for an 83-75 lead.
Brent Barry hit a 3-pointer, Patterson made two free throws and
Vin Baker added a layup for Seattle.
Baker gave Seattle its 76-75 lead when he took a pass from Barry
and scored a fastbreak layup with 1:28 to go in the third quarter,
the final points of the period.
The Sonics held the Magic to Armstrong's free throw in the final
3:48 of the third, outscoring them 8-1.
The Magic led 58-53 at halftime after ending the opening quarter
with 13 unanswered points and getting a 3-pointer from rookie Mike
Miller to open the second period.
Trailing 21-11, Orlando got three baskets and a free throw from
Armstrong in the final 3:29 of the second quarter. Hill opened the
13-0 run by retrieving his own miss and scoring on a layup.
Game notes
After missing two games because of a sprained ankle, guard Emanual Davis returned to the starting lineup for the Sonics. He
took the place of Patterson. ... The Sonics outrebounded Orlando
52-37, with Jelani McCoy leading the way with 13. ... In Orlando's
next game, the Magic will play Friday night in Portland.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Orlando Clubhouse
Seattle Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 104
Indiana 90
Cleveland 92
Dallas 87
New Jersey 116
Minnesota 94
Atlanta 107
Sacramento 99
Miami 96
Denver 85
Seattle 97
Orlando 92
Portland 101
Golden State 93
Milwaukee 109
LA Lakers 105
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Tracy McGrady Official Site
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