The Orlando Magic's record in winner-take-all games

2003 First Round: Detroit Pistons def. Orlando Magic, 108-93

The Orlando Magic had been through the first-round grind in Tracy McGrady's first three years in Orlando. The team had been unable to break through, losing in four games the previous two years.

Even as the 8-seed, the Magic felt like they could compete. They had the best player in the series in Tracy McGrady. That was going to be enough.

He made that statement abundantly clear with a 43-point effort in Game 1, telling the world the Magic were not going to bow out of the series. Orlando took a 3-1 series lead, winning both games at the TD Waterhouse Centre.

Those two wins and a 3-1 series lead prompted McGrady to say he was thankful finally to make it out of the first round. Of course, that was the first year the league changed the first round to a best-of-seven series. Orlando still needed one more game.

The Pistons made the big adjustment, putting rookie Tayshaun Prince on Tracy McGrady. It did not work entirely -- McGrady scored 19, 37 and 21 points in the final three games of the series. But it was enough.

Once Orlando lost Game 6 at home 103-88, everyone knew wining on the road in Detroit would be extremely difficult. The Magic were never really in the game they lost 108-93. Even with Drew Gooden contributing 20 points too.

Chauncey Billups scored 37 points, adding to his resume as a Magic killer in general, to help the Pistons clinch the series and begin the Pistons' run of consecutive conference finals appearances that would last until 2008.

Orlando was always the heavy underdog in this series as the 8-seed. But McGrady really made everyone believe he could carry them to the second round on his own. It was just not meant to be as the Magic did not have enough gas to finish the job and complete the upset.

This was a deeply flawed Magic team beyond McGrady. And the bottom dropped out the following year to force a star trade and a rebuild.