McGrady’s 41 Lead Magic Over the Kings

After five games, Tracy McGrady already has a strong feeling about where he and Grant Hill can lead the Orlando Magic.

McGrady broke the 40-point barrier for the second straight game, scoring 41 Tuesday night as the Magic held off a Sacramento rally and beat the injury-riddled Kings, 125-121, at Orlando, Fla.

“I see something good with this team in the playoffs. I really think this is the team of the East,” McGrady said. “Last year, I was hoping that we were going to be a good team. This year, I truly believe we’re a good team. Having Grant back is really helping our confidence even more.”

McGrady, coming off a 47-point performance in a win at Milwaukee, made 15 of 27 shots and also had eight rebounds and seven assists for the Magic, which is off to a 4-1 start for the first time since 1998-99.

Hill, who sat out the second half of Saturday’s victory over the Bucks after feeling pain in his surgically repaired left ankle, had 21 points in 33 minutes while showing no signs of being hampered by the injury that sidelined him most of the last two seasons.

Bobby Jackson scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, keying a rally from a 109-91 deficit in the last 8:25, but an offensive foul in the final minute kept the Kings from overtaking the Magic.

Minnesota 90, Washington 86 -- Kendall Gill rallied the Timberwolves with nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for the victory at Minneapolis.

Kevin Garnett was five for five in the final quarter and finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds for Minnesota, which outscored the Wizards, 24-11, in the fourth.

The game drew an announced crowd of 18,009 -- 997 short of capacity. It was only the fourth time since Michael Jordan’s return -- the first this season -- that a Wizard game hasn’t sold out.

Indiana 83, Miami 79 -- Brad Miller scored 28 points and made key plays on both ends of the floor in the final minute to help the Pacers win at Miami.

With the score tied, 77-77, Miller lobbed a perfect pass above the rim for Jermaine O’Neal, whose dunk put the Pacers ahead with 50 seconds left. Miller then blocked a shot by Eddie Jones, whose strong play had helped Miami rally in the fourth quarter.

San Antonio 93, Golden State 73 -- Malik Rose made only the seventh three-pointer of his career, a 39-footer to end a lopsided third quarter, as the Spurs cruised at San Antonio.

After trailing, 45-42, at halftime, the Spurs outscored the Warriors, 31-12, in the third quarter. Rose’s three-pointer beat the buzzer and gave San Antonio a 73-57 lead.

Seattle 104, Houston 97 -- Gary Payton had a career-high 18 assists as the SuperSonics almost blew a 20-point fourth-quarter lead before holding off the Rockets at Houston.

Seattle (4-0) pulled away in the third quarter with long-range shooting, making five three-pointers. The SuperSonics finished 11 for 18 from three-point range, including four of five by Vladimir Radmanovic.

Atlanta 103, Denver 87 -- Glenn Robinson was held below 30 points for the first time this season, but the visiting Hawks still won their third in a row.

Robinson, who scored 34, 30 and 30 in Atlanta’s first three games, had 23 points. Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 19 points and 12 rebounds.

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San Antonio Spur guard Speedy Claxton is expected to sit out eight to 12 weeks because of a dislocated right shoulder.