John Denton of the Florida Today reports: Toronto Raptors power forward Antonio Davis said before Tuesday's season-opener against Orlando that he appreciated the Magic's interest in attempting to sign him this past summer, but such a scenario never came close to materializing.
Orlando targeted the rugged 6-foot-9, 240-pounder last summer, even visiting Davis' southwest Orlando home just minutes into the free-agent period. But with only the $4.5 million veteran exception to offer, the Magic were never a serious contender in the Davis sweepstakes. He eventually signed a seven-year, $64 million deal to return to Toronto.
"I appreciate their efforts," Davis said. "I appreciate that they were very honest with me and that they took the time to show some interest."
In other news Doc Rivers had some words for Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach George Karl.
Rivers is still fuming that Karl questioned the Magic's loyalty two seasons ago when they pursued free agents Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill. The two coaches exchanged barbs repeatedly in the playoffs.
Before Tuesday's opener, Rivers took yet another verbal swipe at Karl. He questioned how loyal the Bucks were to center Scott Williams, who was traded to Denver last week to clear room for the acquisition of forward Anthony Mason.
"The next time George Karl starts talking about loyalty go ask Scott Williams what he thinks," Rivers said. "Don't give me a loyalty speech about my team and then go out and do what you did to Scott Williams."
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Michael Jordan didn't make the only comeback Tuesday night.
In an impressive season-opening victory over the Toronto Raptors, the Orlando Magic finally got a look at the Grant Hill they expected to see before foot surgery took him out last season. Hill scored 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting and contributed three rebounds and five assists to the 114-85 rout.
Patrick Ewing came back to the Eastern Conference with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks as the Magic led all the way before a crowd of 16,088 that gave them three standing ovations.
Tracy McGrady came back to where he left off last season with a game-high 23 points and a complete defensive shackling of the Raptors' Vince Carter.
The Magic shot 61 percent and held their own on the boards against one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA. And that wasn't even what they did best.
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This one-two punch is going to look more like a double-barreled shotgun.
Opponents this season will run for cover.
Tracy McGrady found the co-star he was looking for, welcoming back a healthy Grant Hill, and together they opened a new era in Orlando Magic basketball Tuesday night.
These Twin Trophies are going to work just fine.
The Magic opened the 2001-2002 NBA season with a splash even bigger than they hoped for, running over, around and through the Toronto Raptors 114-85 at the TD Waterhouse Centre.
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Magic Oct 2001 Archive
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| Oct 31, 2001
George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel reports: Despite the obvious networking opportunity, Orlando Magic officials kept it social Tuesday night when playing host to a number of local politicians who will help shape the future of the franchise in the coming years.
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| Oct 31, 2001
The Orlando Magic handed out stickers for fans to affix to their shirts Tuesday night.
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| Oct 31, 2001
Orlando Magic coach Doc Rivers said he doesn't mind that many so-called NBA experts are picking his team to win the Eastern Conference this season.
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| Oct 31, 2001
Good for Michael Jordan.
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| Oct 31, 2001
Injured...
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| Oct 30, 2001
Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter were teammates two years ago when the Toronto Raptors made the NBA playoffs for the first time but lacked a sense of direction.
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| Oct 30, 2001
Three-year honeymoon sounds like an oxymoron, but that's what Doc Rivers is beginning with the Orlando Magic tonight.
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| Oct 30, 2001
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports: The Orlando Magic, who open the NBA season tonight, have been building a team they hope will be good enough to earn them a new building.
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| Oct 30, 2001
The Orlando Magic pared down their roster to the maximum 12 players Monday by placing Rookie of the Year Mike Miller and Jeryl Sasser on the injured list.
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| Oct 30, 2001
They are suddenly the NBA's chic pick, morphing from a cast of overachieving scrappers two seasons ago to a roster now loaded with superstar talent and name recognition.
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| Oct 30, 2001
When the Orlando Magic open the season tonight, a familiar face will be missing.
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| Oct 29, 2001
Too old, too slow, too fragile?
Or big enough, durable enough, smart enough?
The Orlando Magic have put their money on the second description of Patrick Ewing.
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| Oct 29, 2001
We would like to pause here, one day before the fully rebuilt Magic tip off the season, pause to reflect upon how quickly and with such little angst this came.
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| Oct 29, 2001
Don Reid plays the game like a racehorse wearing blinders, blocking out everything but the task before him, which really never changes.
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| Oct 28, 2001
Tracy McGrady was one of several members of the Orlando Magic taking part in an open question-and-answer session after the team's intrasquad scrimmage earlier this month at training camp.
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| Oct 28, 2001
The news was slipped in at the bottom of more important stuff.
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| Oct 28, 2001
The Associated Press is reporting that the Charlotte Hornets have waived forward Chris Porter only one day after acquiring him in a three team trade from the Golden State Warriors.
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| Oct 27, 2001
He's old enough to compare NBA scars, but still young enough to talk the language of the stars.
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| Oct 27, 2001
Jerry Brewer of the Orlando Sentinel reports: Even at your skeptical best, it was hard to doubt Grant Hill's health Friday afternoon.
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| Oct 27, 2001
When the Philadelphia 76ers jumped to a 10-0 start last season, they made it clear in November where they expected to be in June -- at the NBA Finals.
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| Oct 26, 2001
A year ago, when Tracy McGrady said he wanted to average a triple-double one NBA season, everyone around him chuckled, believing it was just youthful exuberance, an unrealistic dream and nothing more.
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| Oct 26, 2001
The Magic were aboard the team bus steaming toward their University of South Florida training camp site in Tampa, the morning after an evening scrimmage.
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| Oct 26, 2001
Long before it became fashionable, Paul Pressey had his shirts custom-made to accommodate his unusually long arms.
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| Oct 26, 2001
"Dummy.
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| Oct 26, 2001
Patrick Ewing thought he had seen it all when he watched Kareem Abdul-Jabbar win an NBA title in 1987 at the age of 40 with the Los Angeles Lakers.
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| Oct 26, 2001
The Orlando Magic will play their first game on NBC on Dec.
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| Oct 26, 2001
Leave the backpacks, video cameras and big purses at home -- or at least in the car.
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| Oct 26, 2001
Orlando Magic center Andrew DeClercq will be sidelined 2-to-3 weeks after spraining his left ankle in the team's last preseason game.
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| Oct 26, 2001
If his sprained ankle is healthy, forward/center Andrew DeClercq will start Tuesday's season opener against Toronto, part of a new plan by Coach Doc Rivers.
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| Oct 26, 2001
Doc Rivers has been on a longer honeymoon than all of Elizabeth Taylor's put together.
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| Oct 26, 2001
Tim Povtak
Sure, it would be fun to see the Magic shoot all the way up to the NBA Finals again, facing off against old pal Shaquille O'Neal.
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| Oct 26, 2001
Let's get right to the point: How deep into the playoffs can the Magic go this season? Will they be contenders for the NBA title, or just pretenders? Tim Povtak, our Magic writer, has all the answers.
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| Oct 26, 2001
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel writes:This time it will be sweeter.
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| Oct 26, 2001
The Orlando Magic's reaction to being picked to win the Eastern Conference and reach the NBA Finals by Sports Illustrated? So what.
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| Oct 26, 2001
Tracy McGrady came back.
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| Oct 26, 2001
Jerry Brewer of the Orlando Sentinel reports: It happened again.
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| Oct 26, 2001
The Hawks rallied repeatedly behind 26 points from Shareef Abdur-Rahim and 25 from Jason Terry on Thursday night but could not climb the hill, losing 111-107 in an entertaining exhibition final.
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| Oct 25, 2001
There is much optimism in Hooterville this year.
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| Oct 25, 2001
The Orlando Magic is considered one of the most exciting teams in the NBA because of its stars, Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady.
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| Oct 25, 2001
TONIGHT: Atlanta Hawks, TD Waterhouse, 7:30
RECORDS: Magic 3-4, Hawks 4-3.
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| Oct 25, 2001
It's time to see what they really can do.
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| Oct 24, 2001
Grant Hill looks ready to start the regular season, on track to regain his all-star form.
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| Oct 24, 2001
Tim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel reports: The Los Angeles Clippers lost Bo Outlaw once when he left as a free agent to sign with the Magic in 1997, but they would love to get him back, according to one NBA source Tuesday.
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| Oct 23, 2001
All of this is so new for him.
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| Oct 23, 2001
Tim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel reports: Magic star Tracy McGrady returned to practice Monday for the first time in eight days, but the pain in his lower back returned, too, ruling him out of tonight's exhibition game in Dallas.
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| Oct 23, 2001
Magic notes: Orlando hopes to get Tracy McGrady back on the floor tonight.
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| Oct 23, 2001
(News Services) Orlando coach Doc Rivers pulled his regulars off a slippery court at the Ice Palace in Tampa Sunday and never let them return.
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| Oct 22, 2001
When Orlando's exhibition game against the Los Angeles Clippers was moved out of Mexico City by the NBA back in mid-September, Magic head coach Doc Rivers immediately suggested to team officials that they move the game to Tampa.
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| Oct 22, 2001
Take it from Moses Malone, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last month: Shaquille O'Neal plays on a level above everyone else in today's game.
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| Oct 22, 2001
Just because he wears a fancy suit and a tie now doesn't mean he has lost any of his fire.
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| Oct 22, 2001
3-point goals—Orlando 4-12 (Hudson 3-8, Garrity 1-4), L.
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| Oct 22, 2001
It doesn't happen very often in the NBA, but the Orlando Magic were away from home for only nine hours Sunday to play this road game.
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| Oct 22, 2001
It just wasn't worth the risk.
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| Oct 22, 2001
It wasn't just the 30 years of experience that convinced Charlotte Coach Paul Silas to hire him.
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| Oct 21, 2001
Between the problems Patrick Ewing had with his hamstring during training camp and the sore lower back which Tracy McGrady suffered a week ago, the Orlando Magic haven't had their five projected starters playing together much at all.
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| Oct 21, 2001
Tim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel reports: Only 14 hours after sustaining a chip fracture in his right foot, Magic forward Mike Miller was back on the practice court Saturday, making sure his shooting touch doesn't disappear while his injury heals.
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| Oct 21, 2001
RECORDS: Magic 3-2, Clippers 3-2.
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| Oct 20, 2001
JONATHAN FEIGEN of the Houston Chronicle reports: The simple pass was there and Grant Hill started to make it.
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| Oct 20, 2001
John Denton of the Florida Today reports: Orlando Magic head coach Doc Rivers hinted Friday night that if Patrick Ewing's conditioning does not improve over the next two weeks the veteran center could start the regular season on the injured list.
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| Oct 20, 2001
George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel reports: A season with high expectations will begin on a medical downer:
Despite his optimistic spin, Orlando Magic guard Mike Miller will likely miss four to five weeks with a chip fracture of his fifth metatarsal on his right foot.
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| Oct 20, 2001
Forward Horace Grant did not play, missing the game with lower-back spasms, though that might be interpreted as nothing more than a veteran taking a night off to rest up for the games that count in the standings.
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| Oct 19, 2001
Compared to the best teams in the NBA, the Orlando Magic are just strangers who happen to be wearing the same uniform.
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| Oct 19, 2001
Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown has described his team's training camp as "a real total waste" because of the injuries that have kept four starters out of practices and preseason games.
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| Oct 19, 2001
RECORDS: Magic 2-2, Rockets 2-2.
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| Oct 18, 2001
The return of Brian Hill was once as big of a deal to the Orlando Magic and their fans as the return of Grant Hill is now.
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| Oct 18, 2001
If Wednesday night's preseason game for the Orlando Magic served any purpose -- and that's open to debate -- it provided yet another stress test for Grant Hill.
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| Oct 18, 2001
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports: Memo to NBA Commissioner David Stern: Magic Coach Doc Rivers suggests the preseason should be downsized considerably.
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| Oct 18, 2001
Dee Brown, who retired in August after 11 NBA seasons, has been named as a special assistant to the Orlando Magic.
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| Oct 18, 2001
Baron Davis had 27 points and 10 assists in leading Charlotte to a 97-94 preseason victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
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| Oct 18, 2001
Baron Davis had 27 points and 10 assists in leading Charlotte to a 97-94 preseason victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
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| Oct 17, 2001
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel writes: Tampa Bay got the NFL.
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| Oct 17, 2001
Tonight: Charlotte Hornets, TD Waterhouse, 7:30
RECORDS: Magic 2-1, Hornets 1-2.
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| Oct 17, 2001
John Denton of the Florida Today reports: The Orlando Magic spent all of last season without one of their superstar forwards because of an injury.
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| Oct 16, 2001
The Orlando Magic waived guard Laron Profit Monday, reducing their roster to 15 players two weeks before their season opener.
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| Oct 16, 2001
Mark Schlueb of the Orlando SEntinel reports: When the Orlando Magic's lease at the TD Waterhouse Centre runs out in 2004, the team will be allowed to extend the agreement for one year at a time, Orlando City Council members decided Monday.
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| Oct 15, 2001
After an opening flurry to remember, the Orlando Magic had a night to forget Sunday.
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| Oct 15, 2001
There were a couple of things that stood out on the stat sheet following the Orlando Magic's 101-81 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
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| Oct 15, 2001
Mop-up duty at Ice Palace
Magic center Patrick Ewing and Atlanta forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim both had mop-up duty Sunday at the Ice Palace because, at the home of the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning, the ice was melting as the building warmed up when the crowd arrived.
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| Oct 15, 2001
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports: The Orlando Magic had to deal with something Sunday night that they don't want to deal with again anytime soon: Basketball without Tracy McGrady.
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| Oct 15, 2001
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports: If you think Michael Jordan looks odd in a Washington Wizards uniform, Magic center Patrick Ewing might have joined him, making every night an old-timer's game.
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| Oct 15, 2001
Magic coach Doc Rivers already knows that the East is wide open this year, with a number of teams improving.
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| Oct 15, 2001
'Tracy McGrady recently was asked to name the best player in the NBA.
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| Oct 14, 2001
The Orlando Magic take on the Atlanta Hawks tonight in the first of two exhibition games at the Ice Palace.
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| Oct 14, 2001
At 6-foot-9, Pat Garrity can blend in all but unnoticed when the Orlando Magic go to a lineup comprised in part of Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady and Mike Miller.
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| Oct 14, 2001
It's early in the preseason for the Magic and, as usual, it's hard to tell up from down, left from right, margarine from butter.
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| Oct 14, 2001
Coach Doc Rivers turned 40 at about 30,000 feet just after midnight Saturday aboard the Orlando Magic team plane bound for Tampa, site of tonight's preseason game against Atlanta.
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| Oct 13, 2001
Ewing makes 1st start
Coach Doc Rivers changed his mind Friday and decided to give veteran Patrick Ewing his first start in a Magic uniform.
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| Oct 13, 2001
It’s been almost two full years since Grant Hill felt this good.
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| Oct 13, 2001
The Orlando Magic broke a long-standing but unofficial NBA rule Friday night: They played defense in a preseason game.
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| Oct 12, 2001
After spending a second-round pick on him in the 1996 draft, the Orlando Magic let Amal McCaskill play in 17 games his rookie season.
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| Oct 12, 2001
Practice had ended almost 20 minutes earlier, and many of the Orlando Magic players had already scurried off to the comfort of the locker room to prepare for the flight to North Carolina.
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| Oct 12, 2001
HORNETS UPDATE: The Hornets, who reached the East semifinals last season, lost to the Boston Celtics 80-72 on Wednesday night after beating New Jersey 91-84 in their preseason opener.
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| Oct 12, 2001
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports: About 15 hours after facing the Miami Heat and 30 hours before playing the Charlotte Hornets tonight in Raleigh, N.
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| Oct 11, 2001
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| Oct 11, 2001
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| Oct 10, 2001
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| Oct 10, 2001
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| Oct 9, 2001
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| Oct 9, 2001
Michael Jordan's home opener for the Washington Wizards on Nov.
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| Oct 8, 2001
NBC will broadcast the Washington Wizards' home opener against the defending Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers and the Dec.
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| Oct 8, 2001
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| Oct 7, 2001
John Denton of Florida Today reports that the Magic offered their $4.
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| Oct 7, 2001
Ken Hornack of the Daytona Beach News Journal writes that it has gotten to where it's not an Orlando Magic training camp until Tracy McGrady makes a prediction which, depending on one's point of view, can range from bold to impetuous.
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| Oct 7, 2001
Tim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel writes that in his first public scrimmage since surgery 10 months ago to repair a damaged ankle, Grant Hill affirmed what he and his Orlando Magic teammates have been saying for weeks, that this six-time NBA all-star indeed is healthy again.
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| Oct 6, 2001
Magic fans will get their first looks at Grant back in an Orlando uniform and a healthy Hill playing alongside of star Tracy McGrady tonight in a two-hour scrimmage that is open to the public.
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| Oct 6, 2001
Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill and Mike Miller -- all 6-8 or taller and playing together as point guard, shooting guard and small forward -- may become a staple in this season of high expectations, a unique twist that could cause matchup nightmares for opponents throughout the league.
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| Oct 5, 2001
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| Oct 4, 2001
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| Oct 4, 2001
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| Oct 4, 2001
John Denton of the Florida Today reports: The Orlando Magic have 16 players in training camp - one more than they will be allowed to keep on the roster once the regular season starts - but that doesn't mean they aren't still looking to add pieces to the puzzle.
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| Oct 3, 2001
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| Oct 3, 2001
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| Oct 3, 2001
John Denton of the Florida Today reports: With the exception of some minor weariness in his legs, Hill passed his first test with the Magic, showing no signs of the ankle injury that wrecked his first season in Orlando.
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| Oct 2, 2001
John Denton of the Florida Today reports: Already the Orlando Magic's most dynamic player, Tracy McGrady has every intention now of becoming his team's emotional leader.
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| Oct 2, 2001
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| Oct 2, 2001
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| Oct 1, 2001
The Orlando Magic have signed free agent center Todd Fuller, General Manager John Gabriel announced today.
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