<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> From OrlandoSentinel.com <font size="18">Just out of reach</font> Cruelty always finds them at the end. You can schedule your heartache around the Orlando Magic's late-game misery. Find a home game against an elite team, watch the contest and know this: The Magic's side of the scoreboard will stop at "almost." For another night, the Magic lost in the cruelest way Friday, this time 109-108 to the San Antonio Spurs in the kind of game that has players and coaches irritated over being so close. Spurs forward Tim Duncan made the big play. He missed a runner, rebounded his shot and laid the ball in for the game-winner. Duncan scored with four seconds remaining, then Magic guard Tracy McGrady came up short on a fadeaway as time expired. Once the game was over, McGrady approached Duncan, slapped his hand, gave him a quick hug and walked off the court. Almost. Again. "We've said that a lot," Magic Coach Doc Rivers said. The Magic (24-24) played a credible game against the superior Spurs (30-16), fought them to the last second using their cunning and then lost. Rivers could only applaud the effort and wish that forward/center Andrew DeClercq or anyone else would have fouled Duncan on the decisive play. "In that situation, we have to make him earn that on the free-throw line," said DeClercq, who was guarding Duncan. "Once again, we gave up too many offensive rebounds. That was our downfall again." Duncan, who hit a game-winner over Karl Malone at the buzzer a week ago, had 23 points and 17 rebounds , nine of which were on the offensive glass. Center David Robinson had one of his best games of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds . Point guard Tony Parker had 20 points and 13 assists. McGrady finished with 35 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but he missed 21 of his 36 field-goal attempts. It was McGrady's seventh consecutive game with at least 30 points. That ties a franchise record he set earlier this season. McGrady kept the Magic in the game with his playmaking and intensity during the fourth quarter. But he did not have enough on that last shot. He tried to shake Spurs forward Bruce Bowen, and go to the basket. But he didn't have an opening, so he took the jumper. "I really couldn't," McGrady said when asked if he should have driven to the basket. "There were only four seconds left. The spacing wasn't good. So I tried to pull up off the dribble and take the shot. I got hit across the head a little bit, but they're not going call that." Forward Pat Garrity added 16 points for Orlando. Guard Darrell Armstrong led the bench with 13 points in 21 minutes. "Somehow, we have to find a way to start winning some of these," said forward Mike Miller, who had 15 points and six rebounds. "That's the bottom line." The Magic have made such declarations before. Still, they cannot shake misfortune. Orlando has lost six of its past nine home games. In 48 games this season, the Magic have lost so many close games to elite teams. This game was so similar to the January loss to Indiana, or the December loss to Boston, or the November loss to Sacramento. "We gotta pull these out," Rivers said. "We gotta pull some of these out." Then, Rivers sighed and moved on. With their heads down and legs churning, the Magic keep trying to work toward success. And they always bump into a wall. "We have to keep trying," DeClercq said. "We have to keep pushing."</div>
I watched the end of that game. Was very good. The Magic could not slip away from the spurs. T-Mac played great, like always.
