McGrady Finishes Fast for the Magic

Tracy McGrady scored seven of his 30 points in the final 3 minutes 54 seconds and outdueled Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett to help the Orlando Magic defeat the Timberwolves, 110-107, Thursday night at Orlando, Fla.

The Magic, which has won six of its last seven, ended the game with a 13-3 run.

McGrady, who also had 10 assists, extended his streak of 30-point games to 12 despite being guarded by Garnett.

Garnett had 26 points and 14 rebounds for his 20th double-double in his last 21 games. Wally Szczerbiak added 22 points for Minnesota, which had won four in a row.

McGrady’s two free throws with 24.4 seconds left gave Orlando a 106-104 lead -- its first lead since 7-6 -- and capped a run of nine straight points during a span of 2:10.

San Antonio 98, Houston 85 -- Stephen Jackson scored 27 points and Tim Duncan had 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Spurs at San Antonio.

Jackson scored 11 of his points in the third quarter, when the Spurs extended their 11-point halftime lead to 20.

The loss dropped Houston (37-35) half a game behind the idle Phoenix Suns in the race for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference.

Cuttino Mobley led the Rockets with 21 points. Yao Ming played only 16 minutes and finished with two points -- making only one of nine shots -- and three rebounds.