NBA

Magic earns postseason bid by beating Pacers by three

INDIANAPOLIS -- Tracy McGrady has already established himself as one of the most athletic and prolific scorers in the league. His next mission is to get Orlando out of the first round of the playoffs.

McGrady scored 35 and had 11 rebounds, leading the Magic to its third consecutive playoff berth with a 98-86 win against the Pacers on Friday.

The Magic turned the game around in the third, going on a 14-4 run to take a lead it did not relinquish.

"I'm ready for any challenge thrown my way," McGrady said. "We're a young team and I hope these guys really understand the playoffs are another season. It's not going to be as easy as it was during the regular season."

The Magic let the Pacers pull within one midway through the fourth, but Pat Garrity hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to push the lead back to six.

Another 3-pointer by Garrity, who finished with 11 points, made it 86-75, and the Magic cruised from there.

It finished the series 1-2 against the Pacers.

McGrady was in a funk during his past three games at Indiana, scoring only 37 on 28 percent shooting (14-for-50).

In the first two games this season against Indiana, McGrady was held to a total of 36 points -- more than 14 points below his season average.

His final numbers from the floor Friday weren't much better -- only 11-for-32 -- but he seemed to find his groove by settling in beyond the 3-point line.

He got going early in the first, hitting consecutive 3-pointers, from the left baseline and the top of the arc.

He added two more in the second, sinking 4-of-5 in the half and 5-for-10 overall.

Jermaine O'Neal led the Pacers with 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Jonathan Bender added 16 points. Bender came off the bench to score 10 in the second quarter, helping Indiana take a 15-point lead.

Orlando cut into the lead with a 10-0 run to end the half.

McGrady was fouled by O'Neal on a 3-point attempt with 15.8 seconds left in the first half. He hit all three, pulling the Magic to 46-45 at the half, but it was O'Neal's third foul. Another 3-pointer by McGrady early in the third tied it at 48. Four minutes into the half, O'Neal was whistled for his fourth personal and was benched for the rest of the quarter.

Without O'Neal, the Magic went on their run and held a 72-65 lead at the end of the third.

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