Orlando 100, Detroit 92

ORLANDO, Fla., April 27 (UPI) -- Tracy McGrady scored seven of his 29 points during a decisive third-quarter run Sunday night and Drew Gooden and Darrell Armstrong combined for 38, leading the Orlando Magic to a 100-92 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

McGrady scored 89 points in the first two games of the series, but criticized his teammates following a loss in Game 2 after scoring 46 of Orlando's 77 points.

Armstrong and Gooden scored 35 points en route to a victory in Game 3 and were even better in this one. Gooden had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Armstrong scored 18 as the Magic took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

"There's lots of heart on this team," McGrady said. "It starts with Darrell Armstrong. When you've got a bunch of guys that will battle with you no matter what, you've just got to respect that."

"I've got to help T-Mac, I'm a veteran," said Armstrong, who made six of six shots from the field and four of five free throws off the bench. "I've been through the playoffs, I've been through the tough times, the tough games. It's time for me to step up also. But we've been doing it as a team, and that's the fun thing."

The Magic are on the brink of winning their first postseason series since 1996, which was the last time they made it past the first round.

"I'm just trying to get this franchise back on track, like it was when I was a young fellow watching Shaq (O'Neal) and Penny (Hardaway) here," said McGrady, who had a playoff career-high nine assists and five steals. "There is a lot of energy in this building and I'm going to try to keep it here."

Detroit made an 11-3 run and had a 65-61 lead after Ben Wallace's shot with 5:36 remaining in the third quarter, but did not make another basket until the fourth.

Pistons guard Richard Hamilton made a runner 23 seconds later but was called for an offensive foul that seemed to change the momentum. Armstrong hit a jumper at the other end to spark a decisive run.

Orlando reeled off 18 consecutive points, highlighted by seven from McGrady, who had a jumper, a three-pointer and two free throws during the spurt.

Gooden and Armstrong added four points apiece during the decisive stretch, which gave the Magic a 79-65 cushion with 54 seconds left.

The Pistons did not get closer than double digits until the final minutes and lost their 12th consecutive postseason road game.

Gordan Giricek scored 10 points and Andrew DeClerq added nine and a playoff career-high nine rebounds for Orlando, which shot 50 percent from the floor.

Chauncey Billups tied his playoff career high with 25 points and Wallace had 12 and 24 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards. Detroit lost despite a 43-34 rebounding advantage.

Clifford Robinson had 14 points, but Hamilton was held to just five while making two of 11 shots.

"We have nothing left but fight," Billups said. "We have our backs up against the wall now and we do have a lot of fight. It's not the best of situations, but the good thing is we get to go home in front of our crowd."

The Pistons host Game 5 Wednesday night.

"It isn't over until they win four games," Detroit's Chucky Atkins said. "If we don't play better, then yeah, it's over. We haven't even started playing basketball yet. I am sick of it. This isn't basketball we're playing."