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NBA briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 13, 2001

Magic ends its mini-slump

ORLANDO -- Tracy McGrady scored 25 of his 31 in the first half to lead the Magic to a 101-77 victory over the 76ers on Thursday night.

Troy Hudson added 21 points and Bo Outlaw grabbed 14 rebounds for Orlando, which had lost consecutive games after clinching a playoff berth last week.

"I think we kind of slipped away after we clinched our playoff spot," McGrady said. "But our focus is back and we're back playing Magic basketball."

The Magic remained a half-game behind Charlotte for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Hornets beat New Jersey 88-78 on Thursday.

Tyrone Hill's 16 points led Philadelphia, which suffered its worst loss since a 25-point defeat to Houston on Feb. 7. Allen Iverson, the league's leading scorer, was held to 12 points on 5-for-15 shooting.

The 76ers, who clinched the East's top seed this week, have lost two straight after winning five of six.

The Magic broke open the game late in the second quarter, outscoring Philadelphia 15-4 in the last 4:13 of the half. Dee Brown had two three-pointers in the run, the last coming with 3.5 seconds before intermission to give Orlando a 61-36 lead.

The Magic shot 11-of-21 (52 percent) on three-pointers, with Brown's five leading the team. Philadelphia missed all 10 of its three-point attempts, with Iverson misfiring on six.

KINGS 107, SPURS 105 (OT): Peja Stojakovic hit a short jumper in the final seconds of overtime as visiting Sacramento set an NBA record for overtime victories in a season with nine. The Kings extended their winning streak to five games despite a season-high 42 points by San Antonio's Tim Duncan and the overtime absence of Chris Webber, who fouled out at the end of regulation. The Kings trail the Spurs by 11/2-games in the race for the best record in the league.

BUCKS 115, JAZZ 93: Ray Allen scored 30 of his career-best 43 in the first half for host Milwaukee, newly crowned champion of the Central Division. Allen's previous high was 42 points, set Feb. 26 in a 98-91 victory at Philadelphia. He also made a team record-tying eight three-pointers, matching a mark set by Tim Thomas this season against Portland. The Bucks clinched their first division championship since 1985-86 by virtue of Toronto's loss Wednesday night at Detroit.

HORNETS 88, NETS 78: Elden Campbell scored 17 of his 22 in the second half to help host Charlotte snap its four-game losing streak. The victory was Charlotte's first since a 103-88 win at New Jersey last week and completed a four-game sweep of the season series over the Nets.

MEMPHIS: Lawyer Duncan Ragsdale, a Memphis resident representing himself and his wife, filed a court challenge contending that plans to build an arena with public money would help a private business and select individuals at the expense of the rest of the state's citizens. A private group directing the NBA search has said an arena costing $250-million is a must for the city to attract one of two teams -- the Grizzlies and the Hornets. In the petition to the Chancery Court, Ragsdale contends the Tennessee Constitution bars laws that favor individuals over the general citizenry.

DRAFT: Arizona guard Gilbert Arenas will forgo his final two seasons and enter the draft, the school said. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 16.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season. ... The Chicago Tribune reported that DePaul junior Bobby Simmons might leave to turn pro. The 6-7 forward has included his name for the draft, but he hasn't hired an agent, so he may return to school.

PENALTIES: Atlanta's Lorenzen Wright and Cleveland's Chris Gatling were suspended for one game without pay and fined $7,500 each by the NBA after wrestling each other to the court in Wednesday's game. Gatling will serve his suspension tonight against New Jersey; Wright will miss today's game against the Knicks.

OBIT: Jay Miller, a member of the Pacers' first American Basketball Association championship team, died April 5 of a heart attack in Tempe, Ariz. He was 57. He spent 30 years with the FBI and planned to retire this year. The three-year starter at Notre Dame played briefly in the NBA with St. Louis and Milwaukee before jumping to the upstart ABA with Los Angeles in 1968.

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