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© St. Petersburg Times, published March 10, 2003
ORLANDO -- Tracy McGrady believed there was no stopping him.
"I felt like if I pulled up from halfcourt, I was going to make it," said McGrady, who scored 43, the ninth time this season he has surpassed 40, as the Magic defeated the Denver Nuggets 111-98 on Sunday night.
McGrady dominated the first half, outscoring Denver 37-32. He cooled a little in the third before sitting out the fourth.
"It didn't matter who they were going to put on me, they were at my mercy because I was in a rhythm all night," McGrady said. "And once I get into that rhythm, I feel like nobody can stop me and that was the case tonight."
McGrady headed to the bench for good late in the third quarter after making 13 of 24 shots and 11 of 14 free throws. McGrady hurt Denver with a combination of penetrating drives and long-range jumpers, hitting 6 of 12 3-pointers.
"There was pretty much nothing you could do because we were playing good defense and there were times he was shooting two feet from the 3-point line and making them," Denver's Marcus Camby said. "There was pretty much nothing you could do but tip your hat to the guy for making shots like that."
Magic coach Doc Rivers has watched several opponents this season fail to slow McGrady when he gets on such a roll.
"The worst thing in the world, even for a great defender, is when a great player gets it going," Rivers said. "There's not a lot of defenses that's been made to stop that around the league historically, and he was having one of those nights."
LAKERS 106, 76ERS 92: Shaquille O'Neal had 39 points and 10 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant added 28 points and nine assists for host Los Angeles. Allen Iverson scored 30 for Philadelphia.
SPURS 94, CELTICS 78: Tim Duncan had 18 points and eight rebounds in just over three quarters as visiting San Antonio coasted. Earlier, the Spurs put center David Robinson on the injured list for the third time this season with a recurring lower back injury.
NETS 102, HORNETS 92: Kerry Kittles scored 20 and Jason Kidd added 17 and 10 assists as visiting New Jersey snapped New Orleans' eight-game winning streak.
KINGS 107, PACERS 88: Chris Webber had 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists as host Sacramento snapped a five-game losing streak to Indiana. The Pacers played without Ron Artest after the NBA upheld a flagrant foul call and suspended the forward for one game for accumulating six flagrant foul points.
PISTONS 107, WARRIORS 105: Chauncey Billups hit a 3-pointer as time expired to cap a 31-point performance and give host Detroit its second straight win after a seven-game losing streak.
GRIZZLIES 119, RAPTORS 106: Pau Gasol tied a career high with 32 points and Stromile Swift had 23 points and 13 rebounds as visiting Memphis won its third straight.
WOLVES 105, SUNS 98: Kevin Garnett had his fourth triple double of the season, including the go-ahead baseline jumper with 1:04 to play, for visiting Minnesota.
KNICKS 97, WIZARDS 96: New York nearly blew a late 15-point lead and withstood a 39-point performance from Michael Jordan in probably his last game at Madison Square Garden.