25-Year Orlandoversary: Royal Sinks Mavs at Buzzer

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The duo of Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee Hardaway will always be the remembered duo when the solid Orlando Magic teams of the mid-1990s come to mind. There were other role players that were well-known like Horace Grant, 3-point specialist Dennis Scott and Nick Anderson, the franchise's first-ever draft pick.

With that said, sometimes names like Jeff Turner, Anthony Bowie and Donald Royal slip through the cracks of one's memory. On this day 25 years ago, it was Royal who played the hero as the Magic topped the Dallas Mavericks, 100-98.

Orlando was playing on the second night of a back-to-back at home against the Mavericks on April 16, 1994. The Mavericks were infamous for being the league's worst team, but on that night at the Orlando Arena, they gave the Magic all they wanted.

Orlando led 50-47 at halftime and 79-73 after three quarters. Dallas however, would not go away. With time winding down, the contest was tied at 98.

Rather than put the ball in the hands of Hardaway or O'Neal, it was Royal who ended up with the ball with the clock ticking down. Closely guarded, Royal hit a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer to give Orlando the victory.

Royal finished the night with nine points in the victory. O'Neal paced the Magic with 34 points, 21 rebounds and five blocks while uncharacteristically knocking down all 12 free throw attempts. Scott was 4-for-6 from deep, adding 23 points. Anderson scored 14 in the victory.

Jamal Mashburn (34) and Jim Jackson (26) scored 60 of Dallas' 98 points. Tony Campbell added 17 points while Fat Lever finished with 10 points and a game-high five steals in the loss.

The victory isn't one that will live in Orlando lore, but such a moment for Royal deserves recognition a quarter century later. His game-winner to sink the Mavericks came on this day 25 years ago.  

Mike Ferguson is the founder of Magic Memories. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.

20-Year Orlandoversary: Armstrong Steals Victory from Philadelphia

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It's the chant the crowd says most and according to cliche, it's what wins championships. Of course, the reference is to defense.

Over three decades in the NBA, the Orlando Magic have certainly had their fair share of outstanding defensive performances. Former superstar Dwight Howard won three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards for Orlando.

One of the greatest defensive moments in franchise history came on this day 20 years ago as one of the smaller players ever to wear a Magic uniform came up big with the game on the line. In a contest dominated by defense, Darrell Armstrong came up with a steal and layup as time expired in a 74-73 home win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

The March 15, 1999 contest during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season was hardly a thing of beauty, but in a match-up of two winning teams, it looked like the 76ers were about to leave the Orlando Arena with a victory. Philadelphia held a 73-72 lead late as Orlando went to center Ike Austin with the contest on the line.

Austin was blocked by Philadelphia's Theo Ratliff with six seconds to play and George Lynch was able to corral his career-high 20th rebound before getting fouled with 3.3 seconds to play. Orlando had a foul to give and the 76ers were forced to inbound after a timeout.

But for Lynch's career rebounding night, it would be a gaffe that resulted in the night's lasting memory. As Lynch was inbounding for Philadelphia, he forced a pass into traffic, which was stolen by Armstrong. Armstrong was able to intercept the pass in stride and beat defenders to the rim before laying it in at the horn in what would be one of the more improbable finishes in Orlando history.

Armstrong finished the night with 14 points, six assists and four steals. Nick Anderson paced Orlando with 15 points in the win. For the game's two stars -- Orlando's Anfernee Hardaway and Philadelphia's Allen Iverson -- it was a quiet night as the two combined for just 25 points on a combined 9-for-36 shooting.

Though low-scoring, the Magic were able to overcome deficits of 13 in the first half and 11 midway through the third quarter to win. Orlando opened the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run to go ahead 59-57 on what would be its only lead of the second half until the final horn sounded.

The Magic shot a then franchise-low 28.6 percent and were outrebounded 58-48, but forced 23 Philadelphia turnovers and held Iverson to 5-for-21 from the field. Matt Geiger scored 18 points to lead the 76ers while Ratliff finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in the loss.

A fan favorite over his nine seasons in Orlando, Armstrong was known for his defense, leadership, heart and his hustle. Perhaps his greatest memory in a Magic uniform came on this day two decades ago.

Mike Ferguson is the founder of Magic Memories. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.

15-Year Orlandoversary: McGrady Scores 62 vs. Wizards

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The Orlando Magic have had no shortage of talented players come through the City Beautiful over the years from a young Shaquille O'Neal to aged Hall of Famers like Dominique Wilkins and Patrick Ewing. None of them however, did what Tracy McGrady did against the Washington Wizards on this day 15 years ago.

Eyes weren't exactly on the TD Waterhouse Centre on March 10, 2004 as the Washington Wizards visited the Orlando Magic. The teams were scraping the bottom of the Eastern Conference with records of 20-42 and 18-48, respectively.

Early on, it looked like defenses might dominate the contest as the Magic led just 15-14 after a quarter. But by the time all was said and done, it was a performance for the ages as McGrady scored an Orlando franchise record 62 points in the 108-99 Magic victory, eclipsing the 53 points scored by O'Neal a decade earlier.

McGrady finished 20-for-37 from the field in the victory while grabbing 10 rebounds. Despite the 62-point scoring effort, one could argue that McGrady left points on the floor as he finished just 5 of 14 from deep and missed nine free throws, going 17-for-26 from the stripe.

Juwon Howard added 14 points and 15 rebounds in the victory while Tyronn Lue chipped in with 10.

While McGrady stole the show, Washington's star was too shabby himself that night as Gilbert Arenas paced the Wizards with 40 points. Christian Laettner and Etan Thomas each grabbed double-doubles in the losing effort.

15 years later, McGrady's performance remains a franchise record. In fact, no Magic player has even managed to hit the 50-point mark since.

McGrady's monster night would serve as something as a swan song unfortunately. That would be the final victory for Orlando with McGrady in the lineup as it proceeded to lose the next 13 games before winning the final two of the season without the superstar.

The 2003-04 campaign would be the only one for McGrady in Orlando that did not result in a playoff appearance. In the offseason, McGrady would be traded to the Houston Rockets. As a team, the Magic finished with a record of just 21-61, which at the time, tied for the worst in franchise history.

Mike Ferguson is the founder of Magic Memories. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.