ORLANDO, Fla., March 19 (UPI) -- Tracy McGrady reached the 30-point plateau for a seventh straight game Wednesday night as the Orlando Magic pulled away from the Miami Heat, 109-93.
It was Orlando's 10th win in 14 games.
McGrady, who missed practice on Tuesday after the shooting death of close friend and former high school teammate Eric Anderson, scored 36 points and added nine assists and six rebounds. The Magic improved to 3-0 against their intrastate rivals this season.
Pat Garrity and rookie Gordan Giricek added 18 points apiece for Orlando, which entered the contest in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, two games ahead of Milwaukee and Washington, who are tied for the eighth and final playoff berth.
The game was tied at 43-43 before McGrady gave Orlando the lead for good with a pair of free throws with 4:31 left in the first half. The league's leading scorer added a dunk and three-pointer in the next 93 seconds to help the Magic extend their advantage to 59-50 entering the break.
McGrady, who had 12 points in the second quarter, added 13 in the third to help the Magic open up an 88-76 lead entering the final 12 minutes. He exited for good with 5:12 to play and his team ahead by 20 points, its biggest lead.
Rookie Caron Butler scored 20 points and Brian Grant added 17 for the Heat, who lost for the eighth time in nine games.
