Tracy McGrady said it would take a miracle. What it really took was rest and therapy. After missing three full games of the Olympic qualifying tournament with a sore lower back, the Orlando Magic star was - no pun intended - back last night.

With McGrady returned to the U.S. National Team's starting lineup, the Americans rolled past Puerto Rico, 91-65, setting the stage for tomorrow night's rematch in the semifinals. McGrady had six points and two rebounds in a little more than 17 minutes, and showed no ill effects of what has been a recurring problem.

Canada faces Argentina in the other semifinal tomorrow night. The two winners advance to Sunday night's gold-medal game and earn berths in next summer's Olympics in Athens, Greece, as does the winner of Sunday night's bronze-medal game.

McGrady decided Wednesday night that he would play last night. He told the coaches at breakfast yesterday.

A miracle? Not exactly.

"Just going through the treatment every day, resting my back," McGrady said. "I felt if I could find the treatment I get in Orlando, I'd be fine by the end of the week. It healed up quickly. [Wednesday night] it felt pretty good when I stretched. And it felt good when I worked out."

Not the back, T-Mac. Not again.

Although Orlando Magic officials don't seem overly concerned about star Tracy McGrady's injured back, he won't play any more games with the USA team at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico.

Magic Coach Doc Rivers said Tuesday that McGrady "thought about coming home to Orlando" but instead will stay and support the U.S. squad.

"He's not playing anymore as a precaution," Rivers said by cell phone from Puerto Rico. "He'll be fine with rest. Tracy's making the right decision."

Rivers said McGrady, who has struggled with back problems off and on since the preseason of 2001, has been stricken with back spasms, although Team USA listed his injury as a back sprain.

McGrady, Team USA's top scorer at 14.5 points per game, rested at the club's hotel as the Americans beat Canada on Monday night.

"There's nothing I can do right now," McGrady told reporters Tuesday before Team USA defeated Argentina 94-86. "The best thing is to get my strength back and rest. If I continue to play, it's just going to make matters worse."

McGrady left the door open to play later in the week, but that isn't likely, especially with Rivers and General Manager John Gabriel in San Juan monitoring his health.

Tracy McGrady was down for last night. But he's not expected out of the Olympic qualifying tournament for the U.S.

McGrady, Team USA's top scorer at 14.5 points, did not accompany the team to last night's game with Canada because of stiffness in his back, choosing instead to rest at the team hotel. That prompted an early rumor that McGrady was out for the rest of the tournament. Figure he's day-to-day.

"I think he'll play again in the tournament. At least I hope he does," said McGrady's regular-season coach with the Magic, Doc Rivers, who claimed he had no reservations about McGrady playing - assuming he's healthy.

"Obviously, we're concerned. He has a history with the back. Anyone with a back problem knows how painful it can playing here."

Rivers said he felt very confident with Tim Walsh, the Nets trainer, on the medical staff. Walsh was the Magic's trainer for three years.

"It really helps ease my mind that Tim is here," Rivers said. "I have 100 percent faith in him that he will make the right call about Tracy."

Vince Carter, the team's No. 2 scorer, started for McGrady and scored 16 points. "I had to start a stiff like Vince Carter. We have so much depth," said Larry Brown, stressing he was joking.

President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the Washington Wizards have signed free agent guard Chris Whitney. Per team policy terms of the deal were not disclosed.

?We?re extremely pleased to add an established veteran player like Chris Whitney to our roster,? Grunfeld said. ?Chris is a quality person who will help us both on and off the court, and is an outstanding professional for our young players to emulate. I know that the fans in Washington have a very special relationship with Chris. He is a very competitive individual and is an outstanding perimeter shooter.?

Whitney returns to Washington where he established himself as a fan favorite during his first eight seasons as a Wizard. Entering his 11th NBA season, Whitney is the franchise leader in three-point field goals made (481) and free throw percentage (.878) for players with at least 700 attempts.

?I am thrilled to be back in Washington and to return to the community that has supported me for the majority of my career,? Whitney said. ?I already have a great relationship with many guys on our roster and I look forward to working in Eddie Jordan?s system and being a part of the exciting things happening here in D.C.?

Tracy McGrady, the U.S. leading scorer after three games in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, sat out the second half with tightness in his back after scoring 10 points. It is not believed serious . . . The U.S. had 38 assists on 42 baskets . . . The U.S. is off today and will start second round play tomorrow, facing the four advancing teams from Group A (Argentina, Mexico, Canada and Puerto Rico). The semifinals are Saturday with the finals Sunday.

It doesn't seem that long ago. Vince Carter was the NBA's next big thing, and a burgeoning national phenomenon in Canada. Tracy McGrady, the reluctant understudy, flashed glimpses of potential.

But it was a long time ago, at least in basketball years. Three seasons have passed since Carter and McGrady, distant cousins, played together for the Toronto Raptors.

Today, McGrady has become one of the NBA's best players, leading the league in scoring last season with the Orlando Magic. Carter, a North Carolina alum once considered the heir apparent to Michael Jordan, is trying to repair a career sidetracked by injuries.

Though their stature in the game has changed, McGrady and Carter are together again. The former teammates have reclaimed that bond here as part of Team USA at the FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

"It brings back old times," said Carter, a late Team USA injury replacement for Kobe Bryant. "We still have a chemistry together, believe it or not. We're able to work together. It's like we picked up where we left off."

Except that McGrady is now the man. He's part of the core group of USA Basketball -- McGrady is guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team next summer should the United States -- and has started the first four games of the qualifying tournament.

Hornets guard Darrell Armstrong, signed as a free agent last month, is expected to enter a plea on the charge of battery against a police officer in three weeks or so and could miss regular-season games if the case goes to trial.

The Orange-Osceola (Fla.) County state attorney's office filed the felony charge Wednesday against Armstrong, along with a misdemeanor charge of resisting an officer without violence.

Armstrong, who spent nine seasons with the Orlando Magic, was arrested July 7 outside an Orlando nightclub after an altercation with a police officer.

"It normally takes 21 days for an arraignment hearing to occur," said Randy Means, spokesman for Orange-Osceola state attorney Lawson Lamar. "He doesn't have to appear (for the arraignment) if he decides to have a written plea given to us by his attorney."

Means said there is no way to say this soon whether the case will go to trial. If it does, Armstrong could miss some regular-season games. The Hornets begin training camp Oct. 2, and their regular-season opener is against the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 29 .

More than 80 percent of cases similar to Armstrong's are settled before trial, Means said. But if Armstrong is convicted, he could face a maximum jail sentence of up to five years and $5,000 in fines. His misdemeanor charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail.

Florida prosecutors filed felony charges Wednesday against New Orleans Hornets player Darrell Armstrong, who was accused of slapping away the hand of a female police officer as she ordered him off a street outside an Orlando, Fla., nightclub.

Armstrong's defense lawyer, Zachary E. Stoumbos, said Armstrong would vigorously fight the charge of battery on a police officer, which carries a maximum of five years in prison. Armstrong also was formally charged with resisting arrest without violence, a misdemeanor.

"Whatever contact took place was human nature -- to respond to someone grabbing you from behind when you don't know who that is, meaning you push that hand away," Stoumbos said after being informed of the prosecutor's decision to file formal charges Wednesday afternoon. "Only then did he realize this lady officer was an officer."

Armstrong, who signed a free-agent contract with New Orleans in late July after playing nine seasons for Orlando, was arrested on July 7.

Police have alleged that officer Teresa Joyce was ordering Armstrong to get out of the street and that he was ignoring her, so she put her hand on his shoulder to guide him to the sidewalk.

Joyce has said she sprained her left middle and ring fingers, which were tangled up in Armstrong's shirt, as other officers turned Armstrong toward a police car.

Stoumbos said Armstrong, a 35-year-old father of three who well respected in the community, would not have intentionally battered a police officer, which prosecutors will have to prove.

Doc Rivers understands fans, because, well, he is one.

"The Chicago Bears, man. That's my team," he said Monday afternoon over lunch with some members of the news media.

And when the Orlando Magic coach says the Bears are his team, he really means it. Rivers chats on the phone with Bears coach Dick Jauron, corresponds with him, and still finds himself yelling at the TV screen when he watches games.

"Though I don't find myself doing as much yelling now that I'm a coach," he said. "It gives you a different perspective."

Yes, it does.

Rivers sees both sides. He knows Magic fans are frustrated, which gets reflected more and more in the form of empty seats. And he knows that one more season of not getting beyond the first round of the playoffs probably is not going to cut it anymore. Not with fans, nor likely with upper management. But he also sees things from a coach's perspective.

"Bottom line, I want to get past the first round, too," he said. "But I don't buy into the fact that if you don't, then the coach should get fired. But that's not my decision to make."

The Orlando Magic are resigned to the fact that Grant Hill -- against their cautious wishes -- will attempt to come back and play sometime before the 2003-2004 season ends.

The Magic want Hill -- who has had four surgeries on his left ankle in three years -- to continue his rehabilitation and return the following season.

A showdown between the perennially injured star and the club could be in the offing late in the upcoming season.

Hill had his last surgery on March 16, and his rehab has been confined to non-weight-bearing exercise.

Asked if Hill might be ready to play by, say, next March, Magic Coach Doc Rivers said on Monday during a media luncheon, "He could be . . . I have no idea, to be honest. He's working his butt off. I think Grant, in Grant's mind . . . I think he's thinking, 'I'm not finished this season.' "

Magic General Manager John Gabriel reiterated the franchise's desire for Hill to sit out the season as a precaution after three false starts but admitted, "I think Grant will want to try to play."

The NBA also believed that Hill could play at some point next season, for it turned down the Magic's request this summer to secure a $4.9-million injury exception on Hill's behalf.

Neither Hill nor his agent Lon Babby returned phone calls on Monday.

One scenario kicked around by the Magic, according to league sources, is that Hill would be put through extensive workouts in game-type situations with the team before he'd ever be activated. Gabriel would only say, "Grant's rehabilitation will be supervised."