In what should have been his finest moment of the young season, Tracy McGrady's shoulders slumped and his head drooped Wednesday night. The sellout crowd roared and, in turn, he winced. And time and again, seemingly after each score, he celebrated by clutching at his stomach.
McGrady's insides cramped most of the night and he even thought about reaching for the courtside trash can by the end of the third quarter. But other than that, the night was filled with sheer delight for the Orlando Magic superstar.
Despite playing through a nagging stomach virus, McGrady dominated virtually every phase of Orlando's through 112-102 thumping of the Los Angeles Lakers, scoring 38 points and handing out a game-high nine assists.
"It was pretty bad out there and my stomach kept cramping up on me," a bleary-eyed McGrady said after the game. "The second half it felt really bad, but I pushed through it."
Did he ever. In what was an epic showdown with quite possibly his only peer in the NBA -- Los Angeles guard Kobe Bryant -- McGrady made 12 of 28 shots and 12 of his 16 free throws. He scored from afar (two 3-pointers) and had two driving shots over massive center Shaquille O'Neal late in the game to seal the victory for the Magic. By the end of the game, many of the 17,283 fans inside the TD Waterhouse Centre were chanting M-V-P, M-V-P at McGrady.
"He was really sick and was about to throw up at the end of the third quarter," Magic coach Doc Rivers said. "But when a guy is playing that well you tend to just ignore him and keep feeding him the ball."
Orlando, which never trailed, defeated the Lakers for the first time since February of 1998, ending a seven-game losing streak. Also, it was the first time Rivers has ever beaten Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson in his four-year coaching career in Orlando. Portland is the only team that Rivers has never defeated.
One must wonder now if the champions of the past three seasons are at least a little bit vulnerable. Getting off to a 3-9 start without O'Neal was one thing, but losing on consecutive nights to Miami and Orlando is clearly another. Los Angeles (5-11) got little production from anyone other than O'Neal and Bryant and was routed defensively all night. Last season, Los Angeles didn't lose its 11th game until Jan. 23.
"They'll be fine and they're still a great team," Rivers said. "They've got a great coach and great players. They've been through all this stuff, they still have the three championships and they're still hungry. When the Eastern Conference fields a team for the Finals we all still believe that it will be the Lakers that they will be playing."
Bryant was just as spectacular as McGrady, treating the national-TV audience to a classic battle. Bryant hit 14 of 31 shots, scored 38 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The best exchange of the night between McGrady and Bryant came late in the second quarter when they directly attacked one another. McGrady sent Bryant falling to the floor with one particularly lethal spin move and scored on a floater in the lane. Bryant then came back and blew by McGrady off the dribble and dunked with force. However, he was whistled for a technical foul when he hung on the rim.
"It had nothing to do with us battling and it had everything to do with us trying to win the game,'' said Bryant, downplaying the showdown with McGrady. "I did retaliate one time. I felt like that dunk was totally necessary. I normally don't retaliate. Phil has taught me that. But I felt it was necessary there so I did it. (McGrady) made a nice move and I slipped. The homeboys don't care if you slip or not. So I had to go retaliate.''
O'Neal, who missed the first 12 games of the season following surgery on his arthritic right big toe, played for just the fourth time this season and looked as dominant as ever. A night after struggling to just 15 points in Miami, O'Neal often scored at will against the Magic's smallish frontline. He finished with 28 points and nine rebounds in 36 minutes.
"I felt pretty good,'' O'Neal said. "It's going to take four or five more games for me to really get everything back. All we can do is get better. I took three months off and have had only one week of practice.''
Starting for the third consecutive game, Mike Miller delivered another stellar performance for the Magic. He had 22 points, while Darrell Armstrong added 14 off the bench.
Grant Hill, who missed most of the past three games because of tendinitis in his surgically repaired left ankle, was back in the lineup and explosive at times. That allowed Rivers to finally start his "Big Three" lineup of McGrady, Hill and Mike Miller for the first time ever. Not only did the move allow Rivers to keep Miller -- fresh off a 31-point, 19-rebound performance Sunday _ in the starting lineup, but he was also able to use high-energy point guard Armstrong off the bench.
Hill had nine points and 10 rebounds, but did not play in the fourth quarter after the ankle tightened up on him again.
At a glance What went right: Orlando got significant contributions from Shawn Kemp and Andrew DeClercq to go with the stellar play of Tracy McGrady, Mike Miller and Darrell Armstrong. Orlando won the rebounding battle 43-41 and never trailed.
What went wrong: Grant Hill's troublesome left ankle tightened up in the second half and he did not return for the fourth quarter. He had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Hero of the game: Not only did McGrady score 38 points against Kobe Bryant, but he also handed out nine assists to keep his teammates involved. McGrady added six rebounds and two 3-pointers.
Goat of the game: Magic reserve Jeryl Sasser, a supposed defensive stopper, was put into the game in the final seconds of the third period to guard Bryant. The Laker star proceeded to bury a 22-footer in his face.