McGrady's night complete Rockets make it their task to help teammate gain victory over Magic By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle ORLANDO. FLA. - The final seconds slipping away and the arena finally quiet, Public Enemy No. 1 smiled and winked the way you do when you know something. Tracy McGrady had been talking about this night for a week, telling his teammates that it would be special to him and that in an arena and city pitted against him he would need them more than he had ever needed them. But while Orlando hit him with all the rage and volume it could muster, he never changed his famously placid expression, never let on how badly he wanted this win, or what he knew all along. Then finally, he smiled and winked. A week before, he told his teammates that they would have to be at their best, and then they were, letting the Rockets and McGrady leave town triumphantly this time, with a 108-99 victory Thursday night over the Magic at TD Waterhouse Centre. "I told them ?I've been talking to them for a week ?about what kind of game this would be," McGrady said. "I told them, this means a lot. This means a lot to me." In their first meeting since they were traded for each other in a seven-player deal that so dramatically re-created their teams, McGrady and Steve Francis battled to a virtual draw. Francis attacked the rim with his familiar flair, scoring 16 of his 28 points in the second half while collecting nine assists, with just one turnover, and seven rebounds. McGrady set the early tone and finished with 27 points, six rebounds and four assists. He scored six of the Rockets' last eight points after the Magic closed to within four. "To say he didn't want to win this game more would not be truthful, but he played the game to win (instead of) as an individual showcase," said Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy. "And for that matter, so did Fran-cis." But McGrady got the help of four teammates scoring in double figures, with Bob Sura ?19 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists ?chasing a triple double and Yao Ming making eight of 12 shots for 20 points in 31 minutes. "We knew Tracy wanted to win the game bad," Sura said. "He talked about that. He didn't want to come out here and score 50 points. He wanted to win the game. "He told us five days ago, we better all bring our 'A' game for this game tonight." McGrady set an early pace, scoring nine points in the first quarter while the Rockets rushed to a 12-point lead. He scored on a flying slam, switching the ball to his left hand on the way. He threw in a spectacular runner off the glass while crashing to the floor from a Tony Battie foul. Into the flow But as the game went on, he seemed to step back, and his teammates stepped up. Knight Ridder Tribune Tracy McGrady leaves the court after a strong showing in Houston's 108-99 win over Orlando. "Things were said about Mac," the Rockets' Juwan Howard said. "The way he forced the trade, we had some unhappy people here tonight. "We knew this was not like a regular game. It almost felt like a playoff game. We showed a lot of mental toughness. We could have easily been caught up in the hype. "We could have easily got caught up into stargazing because of Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady. But we tried to come out here like men, come out here and do a job." The Magic gave the Rockets ample opportunity to crack. With six minutes to play, Yao hit a top-of-the-key jumper to keep the Rockets' lead at nine points. But not only did the Magic take off on a 7-2 spurt to close to within 96-92, they did it with a run of highlight plays that seemed to bring all the momentum to a home team and city that had waited months for this night. Kelvin Cato had a rim-swinging slam. Grant Hill scored on a break, drawing a foul on McGrady. Dwight Howard flipped in a lefthanded runner over Yao. The Magic were closer than they had been since the Rockets led 9-4 2 1/2 minutes into the game. McGrady had scored just two fourth-quarter points. "We talked about that before the game, to not get caught up in mano a mano, all the hype, Tracy's day back," the Rockets' David Wesley said. "Tracy did a great job taking his time out there and not feeling like he had to do it all because he was back in Orlando." But after biding his time, McGrady took over down the stretch and for just long enough. McGrady pump-faked Hill into a foul on a 3-pointer, making two shots. Francis made one free throw before McGrady scored on a drive for a 100-93 Rockets lead with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. With the Magic within seven points and inexplicably choosing not to foul, McGrady missed a 3, but Wesley ran down the rebound and McGrady was sent to the foul line to clinch the win with two free throws with 22.4 seconds left. A winning smile Moments later, McGrady could not hold back the smile any longer. "It was fun," he said. "I really enjoyed myself." Then McGrady grinned just a bit again, and said: "I feel good. They love me." If he was really the No. 1 they love to hate, he didn't seem to mind. --

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