They weren't wearing green, but Pat Garrity and Tracy McGrady still made this one look and sound like a St. Patrick's Day celebration.

The luck of the Irish struck again.
Garrity hit the game-winning shot, and McGrady set it up on a platter, propelling the Orlando Magic to an emotional 105-103 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday in front of a national television audience.

It was puncutated by the Magic's five-man, on-court pileup that looked more like a college-age March Madness celebration than an NBA regular-season ending.

"It looked like we just clinched the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament bid," Garrity said. "But we were pretty excited. It's a big win for us, a really good win."

The Magic (36-30) won their fifth consecutive game, continuing their climb toward a top-four seeding in the Eastern Conference and home-court advantage at playoff time, turning back the defending Eastern Conference champs (34-31) on their own court.

Philadelphia's Allen Iverson had 39 points and 10 assists, but he missed at the end, while McGrady and Garrity delivered.

"Our Irishmen were terrific today," said Magic Coach Doc Rivers.

Although he shot poorly early, McGrady had 29 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, cooly hitting a 3-pointer with 1:42 remaining, rescuing the Magic just when the Sixers thought they could pull away. He cut Philadelphia's lead to one point, setting up Garrity's closing role.

After a timeout, Garrity took a pass from McGrady, then hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game for a 103-101 lead with 53 seconds remaining. When Corie Blount hit a pair of free throws to tie, it was Garrity again who hit an off-the-dribble shot from 13 feet away with 16 seconds remaining, providing the winning basket after the defense collapsed around McGrady.

"When Pat puts the ball on the floor, that scares the hell out of me right there," Rivers admitted. "But I guess it was his day. He wants the big shot."

Garrity had 18 points, but he and Horace Grant struggled to keep the Sixers away from the rebounds, which almost cost the Magic a victory. Reserve guard Troy Hudson made eight of his nine field-goal attempts for 19 points, including 14 in a nine-minute, second-quarter stretch.

The Sixers had a final chance to tie, but Iverson missed an open shot from the corner with :08 remaining, then after an offensive rebound by Blount, Eric Snow missed again with :03 left.

After a mad scramble for the rebound, Grant fell on the ball as time expired, prompting his teammates to pile on him to celebrate.

"We didn't know how we were going to win this game, but we knew we were going to win it," McGrady said. "They [Sixers] have a great club, but we've got their number."

It was the Magic's sixth consecutive regular-season victory over the Sixers, giving them the season series, which could be important at playoff time.

"We had won four in a row coming in, but they were all at home and all against teams that were struggling somewhere," Garrity said. "Here we beat a good team on their own court."

The Magic shot 53.2 percent from the field, and they needed every shot because they were pounded again around the basket. The Sixers held a 47-28 rebound edge. The Sixers also had 18 offensive rebounds compared to just three for the Magic.

The Sixers got nine more shots than the Magic in a game that was tight from start to finish. The Magic led through the second half until Iverson scored with 5:35 remaining. But Philadelphia's lead never grew to more than four points, which is when McGrady and Garrity did their best work.

Reserve center Patrick Ewing played one of his better games, which was needed against Philly center Dikembe Mutombo. Ewing had 10 points, making five of seven shots, grabbing five rebounds and blocking two shots in 22 minutes. Darrell Armstrong had 15 points, but he spent most of his time trying to slow Iverson, who was unstoppable at times.

The Sixers were without small forward Matt Harpring (stomach flu), who missed his first game of the season. But Snow played well with 20 points and seven assists.

McGrady struggled early, but he stayed late. He made only three of 10 shots and four of nine free throws before intermission. Yet with Hudson dominating the second quarter, the Magic still lead 55-54 at halftime.

"It used to be a bad start could take me out of my game," McGrady said. "But not anymore. That's maturity. Shooters like Pat have to keep shooting, and great players have to keep playing. And that's what we did out there."