Minus McGrady, Magic Falls Again

The hapless Orlando Magic put up a surprisingly strong fight against the Indiana Pacers with leading scorer Tracy McGrady sick at home with a 103-degree fever.

Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal had 22 points and 19 rebounds, and the NBA-leading Pacers handed Orlando its 13th straight loss, winning, 89-78, on Monday night at Orlando, Fla.

It wasn’t until midway through the fourth quarter, when O’Neal’s three-point play put the Pacers ahead, 77-63, that the game felt out of reach.

“The effort they put forth without McGrady was exceptional,” Pacer Coach Rick Carlisle said. “They made the game the kind of game they had to make it to have a chance to win.”

Orlando, however, is four losses short of tying its franchise-worst losing streak. That stretch was in 1991-92, the season before the Magic drafted Shaquille O’Neal.

Orlando Coach Johnny Davis made his home debut after replacing the fired Doc Rivers last week in the middle of an 0-5 trip.

Juwan Howard, returning to a starting role, scored 17 points to lead Orlando.

New York 94, Boston 88 -- Shandon Anderson had a season-high 28 points, and the Knicks, playing without their top two scorers, used a 34-12 second-half run to beat the Celtics at Boston.

Allan Houston and Keith Van Horn sat out for New York because of injuries.

Paul Pierce and Vin Baker had 16 points apiece for Boston.

Detroit 94, Atlanta 89 -- Chauncey Billups redeemed himself at the free-throw line by making four consecutive shots in the final 18 seconds to help the Pistons win at Atlanta.

Billups missed two foul shots with seven seconds left Sunday in Detroit’s 81-80 loss to New Orleans. He finished with a team-high 24 points despite shooting only seven of 23 from the floor.

The Pistons, who won for the fifth time in six games, trailed Atlanta by 16 points late in the third quarter. Detroit answered with a 24-4 run.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim led the Hawks with 26 points.