Welcome to “The T-Mac Show” at the Garden. It was a thriller and one of the more memorable Garden nights of the last nine seasons.
The first of McGrady’s 29-game Knicks audition went spectacularly for him as the Garden buzzed with electricity, thundered with noise, showering T-Mac with adulation before the Knicks dropped a 121-118 overtime decision at the Garden — their sixth straight defeat.
McGrady put on a smooth-as-silk superstar performance in his debut, scoring 26 points in 32 minutes with five assists, but didn’t have anything left and D’Antoni benched him in the overtime until the final 34 seconds.
McGrady had 19 points by halftime, but after the Knicks blew a 3-point lead in the final seconds of regulation, T-Mac all but called it a night.
“I didn’t have any legs at all,” McGrady said about sitting out OT. “I felt why be out there and hurt the team when we’re in position to win — if I feel I can’t be effective. I didn’t want to be a hero.”
McGrady was treated as the savior, playing his first game since Dec. 23, even if the Knicks may not have cap space to re-sign him.
During player introductions, McGrady received a boisterous ovation, many fans standing, to salute their new leading man. And then, spontaneously, sitting on the bench with 8:00 left after along rest and the Knicks sputtering, the fans burst out in a thunderous chant of “We Want T-Mac.”
The Garden went wild when he hopped off the bench moments later to come into the game — with the club down by four.
“I haven’t felt that good in a while,” McGrady said. “To really be received that way, to hear those chants, it really gave chills down my spine.
“I really felt good and it helps my confidence moving forward, knowing I can play a significant amount of minutes.”
Their two other newcomers, Eddie House and point guard Sergio Rodriguez (five points, six assists), were also a breath of fresh air off the bench. House finished with 24 points with his outside shooting. But down 3 in the final seconds of overtime, he banked a wild 3-pointer that missed.
Kevin Durant was too good as he finished with 36 points, hitting the game-tying 3 with 6 seconds left at the end of regulation.
“He reminds me of when I was younger,” McGrady said.
Looking nothing like the supposed washed-up player coming back from microfracture surgery, McGrady dropped 19 points in the first half, making 7 of 12 buckets.
“I didn’t expect to play the way I did,” McGrady said. “I expected to move like I did. As far as being efficient offensively, no. The key is how I’m going to feel [today] and [tomorrow]. That will be the big test. I didn’t expect to play past 30 minutes. My goal was 20.”
After the Knicks grabbed a four-point lead in OT, the Thunder came back and took the lead on a Nick Collison tip-in with 32.6 seconds left.
McGrady missed two late free throws in regulation, still showing some rust, but he blamed it on “concentration.”
The fans cheered loudly the first time McGrady touched the ball. It grew increasingly louder each time the seven-time All-Star buried a pull-up jumper or glided to the basket for points. The 6-foot-9 shooting guard McGrady made up for his slight drop in athleticism with craftiness, scoring in all different ways.
McGrady said he had the “jitters” early and wanted to get involved quickly and made sweet forays to the hoop, completing two 3-point plays in a 10-point first quarter.
“I wanted to test it,” McGrady said. “I didn’t want to settle for jumpers.”
This was like a different building, how long they have craved a Garden star after eight straight losing seasons going on nine. They chanted for McGrady again in OT.
Before the game, D’Antoni called McGrady, despite his layoff since late December and microfracture knee surgery, “our best player.”
“I’m just taking a wild guess,” D’Antoni said.
But D’Antoni limited him. McGrady came out with 4:07 left in the third quarter and the fans got itchy still seeing him sit there with 8:00 left. The Garden resounded with loud “We Want T-Mac” chants.
When McGrady hopped off the bench with 6:57 left, the fans went wild. And when he checked into the game, it was louder.
McGrady wore No. 3 but not as a tribute to Stephon Marbury but to publicize a documentary he’s filmed in Africa, called “3 points.” He’s worn No. 1 but that is taken by Chris Duhon.
It was his night. He had an early top of the key jumper off the backboard and shook his head. One of his three assists was a beauty, a long bounce pass on the break to Al Harrington for a layup. He made it look easy.
McGrady said Friday he’d stay for less if the Knicks can add a couple of max stars. Maybe he’s the star.
“I’m glad he said that,” Donnie Walsh said.