McGrady Still Has the Edge on James

Tracy McGrady got the best of LeBron James this time. He’s not making any promises about the future.

“He’s unbelievable,” McGrady said Thursday.

“He’s not 18. Can’t possibly be. If he continues to work hard and stay hungry, it can be ugly. It’s scary how good he can be. You just look at him, man. The poise that he has out on the basketball court. The confidence. He has that swagger.”

So does McGrady, whose 41-point performance overshadowed James’ 34 points in the Orlando Magic’s 113-101 overtime victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The three-time All-Star, who is only 24 himself, conceded that he drew extra motivation from the first meeting of the two young stars.

“Absolutely. It’s Christmas,” McGrady said. “I would like to be home with my family. But it’s my job to come out and perform. And when you have a guy like LeBron coming into town with all the hype around him, everybody’s going to be tuned in and want to see the outcome. You have no choice but to get yourself ready to play.”

James matched last season’s league scoring champion point for point for most of the afternoon.

The rookie phenom made 13 of 28 shots but only four of 10 shots from beyond the three-point arc and missed all four of his shots in overtime.

“I play the same way every game,” James said. “It doesn’t matter who I play against or what team we are playing against. I just try and help my team win.”

Juwan Howard scored 19 points for Orlando, which has won seven of 10 since ending a 19-game losing streak.