NBA

McGrady, Magic stay hot

MIAMI -- From the opening tip, it was obvious that Sunday was going to be Tracy McGrady's night.

McGrady made a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored 37 as the Magic won its fourth in a row and eighth in its past 11, 96-74 over the Heat.

McGrady scored 21 in the first quarter, a record against Miami, and had 32 at halftime. He finished 15-of-27 and added seven rebounds and five assists.

"I'm on a tear," he said. "Ever since the All-Star break, I've had a different approach to the game. I'm just coming out mentally focused. I don't know what caused it."

McGrady played 32 minutes and sat out the fourth quarter. Gordan Giricek and Jacque Vaughn each scored 13 for the Magic.

McGrady scored the first seven for the Magic. He shot 8-of-13 in the quarter including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. One of his 3s hit the rim, bounced off the top of the backboard and went through.

He has led the Magic in scoring in his past 40 games.

Orlando made 11 3-pointers, giving it 10 or more in five of its past seven games.

"He was shooting the ball so well," Orlando coach Doc Rivers said. "In the second half, he got more people involved. It was an unbelievable effort. One of the things we read in the paper was that the Heat was going to send some help down low, so we sent Tracy out top. That's why he was able to hit so many threes."

Caron Butler scored 19 and Eddie House added 13 off the bench for Miami.

The Magic put the game out of reach in the third quarter behind a barrage of 3-pointers. McGrady, Giricek and Pat Garrity made 3s as the lead swelled to 25.

SPURS 98, LAKERS 89: It's usually not good for San Antonio when the words "Lakers" and "sweep" appear in the same sentence.

This season is different.

Tim Duncan had 27 points and Tony Parker scored 16 of his 18 in the second half to help the host Spurs complete a four-game regular-season sweep of the defending champions.

The Spurs last swept the season series in 1993-94.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich held back from giving his team full credit for sweeping the Lakers, who needed only nine games to oust San Antonio from the postseason during the past two playoffs -- 4-1 last season and 4-0 in 2001.

"We've only beaten them twice; Shaq has only played in two of the games," Popovich said, referring to Shaquille O'Neal's foot surgery that kept him out early this season. "They are still the best team on the planet until proved different in the playoffs."

San Antonio took control by making 10 of 15 shots in the third quarter. The Spurs led by 19 in the quarter as the Lakers shot 6-for-31.

O'Neal had 32 points and 12 rebounds. Kobe Bryant, who scored 31, made a 15-footer, then a breakaway dunk off a steal with 2:48 left, cutting the lead to 84-79.

Duncan followed with a shot on the run. Parker stole the ball from O'Neal on an inbounds and was fouled, making two free throws that increased the lead to 88-79 with 1:40 to go.

76ERS 112, RAPTORS 95: Allen Iverson scored 32 to lead visiting Philadelphia. Vince Carter scored 22 for the lottery-bound Raptors, who have lost eight of nine. Toronto's Alvin Williams made a layup to tie it at 71 with 5:44 left in the third before the Sixers went on a 15-6 run. Iverson, who had six points and two assists during the run, hit a jumper that gave the Sixers a nine-point lead just before the end of the quarter. Raptors forward Jerome Williams sat out with a sprained neck.

PISTONS 105, BULLS 82: Richard Hamilton scored 26 for host Detroit, which stretched its Central Division lead to 31/2 games over idle Indiana. The Pistons are 3-0 against Chicago this season and 17-2 overall since Michael Jordan left the Bulls. Chicago was missing Donyell Marshall, its leading rebounder and second-leading scorer who injured his ribs in Saturday's win over New York. Detroit led 49-43 at the half, thanks to 11 points from Mehmet Okur, and Hamilton had seven points in a 13-4 run to start the second half, moving the lead to 62-47.

Pistons guard Chucky Atkins, a former South Florida standout, sat out with a bruised knee.

CAVALIERS 93, NETS 88: Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 29 to help host Cleveland overcome an early 13-point deficit. Ilgauskas shot 13-for-21 as Cleveland snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the third time in 19 games, with two of those wins coming against New Jersey. Jason Kidd scored 21 to lead the Nets but committed a key turnover and missed a free throw in the final 16 seconds. Ilgauskas gave Cleveland an 89-85 lead before Kidd hit two free throws. Two free throws by Smush Parker extended Cleveland's lead to 91-87 with 13 seconds left.

WARRIORS 113, WIZARDS 107: Gilbert Arenas scored a career-high 41 and Antawn Jamison had 37 points and 11 rebounds for host Golden State, which spoiled Michael Jordan's last game in Oakland. Jordan missed two shots down the stretch, committed a turnover with 22 seconds left and was scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting in the fourth quarter. He scored 24 before a sellout crowd of 20,149.

KINGS 109, ROCKETS 108: Chris Webber scored 24 for host Sacramento, which held on when Steve Francis missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer. Francis had 38 points and nine assists, but Webber made two shots in the closing minutes. Francis hit a 3-pointer with six seconds left, trimming Sacramento's lead to a point. Webber then missed two free throws, nearly allowing Houston to steal a win in the league's toughest road arena.

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