DENVER (Ticker) -- Tracy McGrady did everything but hit the final shot.
McGrady scored a league season-high 51 points but missed a potential tying 3-pointer with seven seconds left as the Orlando Magic suffered their eighth straight loss, a 106-101 setback to the Denver Nuggets.
McGrady, who fell one point short of his career high, shot 20-of-30 from the field, hitting a career-high eight 3-pointers. But the 6-9 superstar could not make his last one despite being guarded by 5-5 Earl Boykins, who raced downcourt for a fast-break layup.
"He had no choice because it was transition and he was the only one close enough to me," McGrady said. "If he wouldn't have come close I was pulling up for the three. It was kind of hard to try to get around him because he's so short. I know if I would have tried to penetrate and go around him, he's quick enough to get in front of me and draw a charge, so I just had to shoot over him."
Boykins scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 27, one shy of his career high. He also recorded the eighth blocked shot of his six-year career when he swatted Tyronn Lue's attempt early in the period.
Boykins hit two key shots down the stretch. His 3-pointer with 5:25 left capped an 8-2 run to make it 92-85, and a jumper from the right side beat the shot clock with 1:43 left for a 99-90 lead.
"I think whenever you are an up-and-coming team and you have a game on national television, it is good to win," Boykins said. "If you make it to the playoffs, you will be on national television. Last year we won only 17 games. We have already won five, and I thank Carmelo Anthony for those games."
Anthony made just 6-of-23 shots but had his first double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and came three assists from recording a triple-double.
"We kept doing what we were doing," Anthony said. "I missed some shots. I still think I played well. The ones I missed I threw out the window. Earl came through big time in the second half. He told me to go inside and his advice worked."
Anthony gave the Nuggets their first lead with 2:23 left in the third quarter when he capped an 18-6 run with a pair of free throws for a 71-69 lead. Denver never trailed again.
The Magic could not catch up down the stretch, but it was hardly the fault of McGrady, who scored 19 of Orlando's 25 points in the final quarter, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
"I couldn't ask for anything more from Tracy McGrady," Magic coach Doc Rivers said. "Tracy needs some help. Somebody has to step up."
It was the fourth time in nine games this season that the Nuggets scored at least 100 points. Last season, it took Denver until February 12 to reach the century mark four times.
The Nuggets' 5-4 start is their best since 1994-95, when they won six of their first nine.
