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PISTONS 89, MAGIC 77: T-Mac scores 46, but teammates total 31 as Detroit ties series 1-1.
By RYAN MOLONEY
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 24, 2003
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- So much for the 40-points-or-more theory.
Tracy McGrady scored 46, breaking the franchise playoff record of 43 he set Sunday, but the Pistons stifled the rest of the Magic on Wednesday night, winning 89-77 to tie the Eastern Conference best-of-seven series 1-1.
In both of Orlando's wins against the Pistons this season, McGrady scored more than 40. In one night, one theory was dispelled and another proven. McGrady's big games are no longer enough. One or two teammates need to step up.
"I can't win it by myself," McGrady said. "I'm pretty sure they should understand that, but I give Detroit credit for really shutting those guys down."
The rest of the Magic combined for 31 points. Andrew DeClercq came closest to reaching double figures with nine points. The bench players, the team's sparkplug in Game 1, combined for 12 points.
"We've all got to get going," said forward Drew Gooden, who followed an 18-point, 14-rebound performance in Game 1 with 11 rebounds and four points. "We were all waiting to see what T-Mac was going to do."
Coach Doc Rivers agreed.
"We had a lot of young guys who played it safe," he said. "We're not smart enough or good enough to play that way."
The Magic failed in its bid to go 2-0 on the road in the first two games of a playoff series for the first time in franchise history. With the loss, the Magic looked more like the team that went 16-25 on the road this season.
Gooden and Gordan Giricek, the rookie starting forwards considered keys entering the series, were a combined 3-of-20 from the field. Guard Darrell Armstrong, who scored nine and hit key baskets in Game 1, scored one. Pat Garrity was scoreless 23 minutes.
By comparison, Detroit's Richard Hamilton scored 30, but four other Pistons reached double figures. Hamilton, who scored a quiet 28 Sunday, scored 21 first-half points and helped Detroit build a 22-point lead in the second quarter.
Detroit's Ben Wallace validated the NBA defensive player of the year award he won earlier in the day. He made two come-from-behind blocks in the first several minutes and finished with 16 rebounds, three steals, three blocks and 10 points.
After a 31.6-percent performance in Game 1, Detroit rebounded to 42.5 percent.
Orlando shot 25 percent from the floor and scored only one more point than Hamilton in the first quarter. Detroit went 12-for-21 from the field and jumped to a 31-14 lead. The Magic rallied to within 14 points at halftime.
"When you get down 22 points, sometimes it's hard to come back on the road," Armstrong said. "We made a run, but we couldn't get it down to less than eight or seven (points)."
In the second half, McGrady, who boosted his career playoff scoring average above 30 points per game, continued to balance Orlando's offensive attack on his shoulders. Fouled on a 3-point attempt, McGrady's three free throws brought the Magic within 63-54 with less than five minutes left in the third quarter.
Five points by Hamilton inside 1:30 gave the Pistons a double-digit lead, but McGrady hit two more free throws to pull within 70-61 entering the fourth quarter.
Orlando's bench outplayed Detroit's in the first game. Corliss Williamson, almost invisible in Game 1, demonstrated why the Pistons led the league in bench scoring this season.
With Hamilton on the bench with three fouls to start the fourth quarter and the Magic within 70-63 thanks to a Chris Whitney basket to start the quarter, Williamson scored eight in a 10-4 run to put the Pistons back up by 13.