Orlando Magic Team Report - February 23

(Basketball News) - Juwan Howard’s three-point play with 3.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter lifted the Orlando Magic to an improbable 87-86 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Howard, who finished with a team-high 20 points, was fouled by the Pistons Richard Hamilton with his team trailing 86-84. While he was falling away from the basket, Howard hit a shot in the lane and converted the free throw to snap the Magic’s four-game road losing streak.

The opportunity was created by Tracy McGrady, who made up for an awful shooting night by stealing the ball from Chauncey Billups with 10 seconds remaining.

McGrady struggled on the night, hitting just 3-of-20 from the field to finish with 19 points. Drew Gooden came off the bench to add 14 points, as Orlando won its third straight overall.

To add insult to injury, to go along with his poor shooting performance, McGrady was fined $10,000 on Sunday for kicking a basketball into the stands twice at the end of the first half of Orlando’s 102-98 victory over Denver on Friday night.

The Magic are just 8-23 away from home this season.

Orlando is off until Tuesday when it hosts the Portland Trail Blazers.