RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) The Orlando Magic have been able to count
on several constants this season, not the least of which is the
production they'll get out of Tracy McGrady.
| | Orlando's Tracy McGrady drives between Pistons Ben Wallace, left, and Corliss Williamson. | If Don Reid contributes anything, it's a bonus.
Reid provided some bonus Wednesday night, grabbing 17 rebounds
to help Orlando defeat Detroit 112-102.
"I looked at Bo (Outlaw) and said 'Dang, 17 rebounds. He's
getting a new contract tonight,' " Darrell Armstrong said of Reid.
The Magic outrebounded the Pistons 56-41, and Magic coach Doc
Rivers says that was the difference in helping his team win for the
fifth time in six games.
"Kudos to the rebounds," Rivers said. "The one thing Detroit
is is a great offensive rebounding team. They only had seven for
the game and that's a terrific job on the boards, especially when
that's something you haven't been known to be good at.
"(Reid is) just so physical and I think the more and more we're
giving him minutes, the less he's been in foul trouble. I think
officials are starting to understand how he plays."
Rivers also feels the fact Reid was waived by Detroit a year ago
helped inspire his play. Reid's rebounding output was the most by a
Magic player this year.
"A team that cuts you?" Rivers said. "You want to get them
back every single time and he did."
McGrady had 37 points and 11 rebounds, connecting on 12 of 28
field goals and 12 of 16 free throws. He also had five assists,
three steals and three blocked shots. McGrady has scored 30 or more
points 20 times this season.
Mike Miller had 20 points, hitting four of five 3-pointers, and
Orlando was 8-for-16 from 3-point range.
Jerry Stackhouse led Detroit with 36 points, hitting 11 of 30
shots. Stackhouse was 3-for-11 on 3-point attempts. Corliss
Williamson had 19 points and Michael Curry and Ben Wallace had 10
each.
"We dug ourselves a hole," Detroit coach George Irvine said.
"We did not play very intelligent. Our shot selection stunk at
times. We made some careless plays. Some nights you're not going to
have the same energy but hopefully you get a little more patient
and a little more selective play. But you can't do both. You can't
not play hard and then play the way we did."
The Magic never trailed after Bo Outlaw's layup at the 10:26
mark of the first quarter put Orlando up 4-2.
McGrady scored Orlando's first nine points of the fourth quarter
as the Magic led 99-85 with 7:49 remaining. Orlando led by at least
eight points until Wallace hit a pair of free throws to make it
106-100 with 2:26 left.
Detroit would get no closer as Orlando finished on a 6-2 run.
"We had them on their heels the whole game," McGrady said. "I
felt like we could have put them away from the beginning of the
game but we didn't do that.
"I think the thing that won this game was they had very few
offensive rebounds. Our big man (Reid) did a great job of keeping
Ben Wallace and the other guys off the glass."
Wallace came into the game averaging 20.5 rebounds in two games
this year against Orlando. He finished with 12, his season average.
Miller had 10 points in the third quarter to help the Magic hold
off a push by Detroit. Stackhouse's 3-pointer at 2:47 pulled
Detroit within three, 78-75, but Orlando built its lead to 90-79 to
close out the quarter.
Detroit cut Orlando's lead to 46-43 with 4:19 remaining in the
first half on a basket by Stackhouse. But the Magic finished on an
18-6 run to lead 64-49 at the half.
Game notes Wallace and McGrady were each called for a technical foul.
... Each team committed 22 fouls. ... The game featured just one
tie. ... Orlando has won 15 of the last 16 matchups against Detroit
at home. ... In the last 18 meetings, the winning team has scored
100 or more points seven times. ... McGrady had his 14th
double-double of the year. He has led Orlando in scoring 43 times
this year. ... Detroit is 1-28 when trailing at halftime and 2-32
when trailing after three quarters.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Orlando Clubhouse
RECAPS
Milwaukee 101 Boston 94
New York 79 Indiana 75
Philadelphia 102 New Jersey 94
Houston 104 Atlanta 98
Washington 88 Cleveland 83
Dallas 93 Miami 86
Orlando 112 Detroit 102
Sacramento 100 Phoenix 89
Utah 86 Seattle 82
LA Lakers 97 Toronto 85
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