McGrady, Hill Look Magical

For more than a year, the Orlando Magic wondered what it would be like when Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill worked in sync. The team finally got its answer.

McGrady had 23 points and Hill scored half of his 22 points in the decisive third quarter Tuesday night as the Magic beat the Toronto Raptors, 114-85, at Orlando, Fla., in the season opener.

Chris Childs’ 13 points led Toronto.

The Raptors almost lost more than the game, as all-star guard Vince Carter hurt his left knee late in the second quarter. However, Carter, who had banged knees with Orlando’s Horace Grant, briefly returned in the second half before leaving when the deficit reached 21 points.

Carter had 11 points in 23 minutes. He made two of 14 shots, but made all seven foul shots.

“He’s going to be fine,” Toronto Coach Lenny Wilkens said.

The Magic had high hopes last year when they signed McGrady and Hill to seven-year, $93-million contracts.

But Hill’s surgically repaired left ankle gave out after only four games.

That potential was realized in the third quarter, when Orlando outscored Toronto, 31-15, en route to a 24-point lead. Along with Hill’s 11 points and three assists, McGrady added nine points.

“We’re still learning each other,” Hill said. “But I thought, all in all, it was a good first game against a quality team at home and we’re going to build on it.”

Orlando shot 12 for 17 (71%) in the period while Toronto missed 10 of 13 shots and committed eight turnovers.

Wilkens was most displeased that his team lost its focus when Carter hit the floor.

“Their minds disappeared for a minute or two, and that’s not good,” Wilkens said. “The die was cast early when we didn’t come out mentally the way I thought we should’ve.”

A Toronto spokesman said Carter sustained a contusion to his left knee, and planned to play tonight at Miami.

There was no clear winner in the battle of aging centers, as Patrick Ewing had 12 points and eight rebounds and Hakeem Olajuwon finished with 11 points and four rebounds.

Milwaukee 119, Utah 112--Ray Allen scored 32 points, Glenn Robinson had 28 and Sam Cassell added 25 as the Bucks outscored the Jazz, 11-1, in the final 3:14 of regulation en route to an overtime victory at Salt Lake City.

John Starks led the Jazz with 20 points. Karl Malone had only 15.

Milwaukee could have won in regulation but Tim Thomas missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

New Jersey 103, Indiana 97--The Nets overcame both a career-best 43-point game by Jalen Rose and a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Pacers at East Rutherford, N.J.

Jason Kidd had 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in his debut for the Nets. Keith Van Horn added 26 points and Kerry Kittles had 20 in his first game in more than a year.

The Nets won by outscoring the Pacers, 35-18, in the fourth quarter.

Sacramento 101, Seattle 95--Vlade Divac scored 27 points and Mike Bibby had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the Kings’ victory at Sacramento.

Peja Stojakovic added 26 points.

Bibby, acquired in an off-season trade for Jason Williams, quickly became a crowd favorite, particularly when he scored seven points in the final 63 seconds of the third quarter.

Vin Baker had 20 points for the SuperSonics.

Dallas 94, Detroit 87--Michael Finley scored 34 points to lead the Mavericks at their new $420-million home, American Airlines Arena.

Dirk Nowitzki (21 points) didn’t score a basket until making a dunk several minutes into the second half.

Jerry Stackhouse led Detroit with 27 points.

Houston 89, Atlanta 84--Steve Francis scored 23 points, including seven in overtime, and the Rockets started the post-Hakeem Olajuwon era with a victory at Houston.

The Rockets played without Olajuwon for the first time in 17 seasons.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim, traded to the Hawks from Vancouver in the off-season, finished with 28 points and 18 rebounds.

Denver 99, Phoenix 96--Nick Van Exel had 27 points and nine assists at Phoenix to help the Nuggets spoil Stephon Marbury’s debut with the Suns.

Marbury had 14 points and 10 assists. The opener also was a bust for Penny Hardaway, who played in only four games last season after knee surgery. Hardaway played only two minutes in the second half and a total of 19, finishing with one point.

Tony Delk led Phoenix with 21 points.

Boston 108, Cleveland 89--Paul Pierce scored 29 points and Antonie Walker added 23 at Cleveland to help the Celtics spoil John Lucas’ coaching debut with the Cavaliers.

Lucas, hired during the off-season, faces a difficult rebuilding season.

Trajan Langdon and Wesley Person scored 13 points apiece to lead Cleveland.