Orlando Magic NBA Playoffs: The top 10 Orlando Magic playoff performances

4. T-Mac’s Stand

2001 First Round Game 3 — 42 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds

Everyone remembers McGrady’s stunning performance in Game One of the 2003 Playoffs.

But, to my eye, the 2001 Game Three performance is perhaps the best of his Playoff games and perhaps the best all-around individual Playoff game in Magic history. Its lack of importance in the long run of Magic history is why I place it here. We simply do not talk much about this game or the four-game series with the Milwaukee Bucks.

But McGrady, playing in his first Playoffs with the Magic, showed exactly what he is capable of in willing the Magic to an overtime victory.

The Orlando Sentinel’s headline read “T-Mactacular!” after the game. It was a lone Playoff victory in a forgettable Playoff series. But it was McGrady’s magnum opus. He did his work during the regular season as a dominant scorer. But this was him doing it in the Playoffs. He let the world know he was going to be one of the best players in the league for years to come.

McGrady simply willed his team to victory as he would so many times. Facing elimination, McGrady rose to the challenge for his team. This is quietly one of the best Playoff games in Magic history.