The Orlando Magic put Mike Miller on the injured list Sunday, and they replaced him on the active roster with seldom-used Danny Defense.

With Miller unavailable and Tracy McGrady struggling with his shooting, the Magic turned to their unlikely star, who wasn't even on the roster when the day began.

The Magic kept their playoff drive in gear Sunday by smothering the Toronto Raptors 92-79 and discovering a weapon that too often has gone unused this season.

"If we play defense like this, we're going to win games, a lot more games," said Magic guard Darrell Armstrong. "Great defense can make a lot of things happen."

The Magic started the day allowing the third-most points in the league, but they ended it like a defensive dynamo, putting the clamps on a team that has plenty of weapons.

The 79 points were the fewest allowed since an 87-78 victory Dec. 28 against the Detroit Pistons. The Raptors' shooting percentage (.376) was the lowest for a Magic opponent in two months.

This from a team that allowed the Boston Celtics to score 130 points last week and permitted opponents to shoot 50 percent or better in four consecutive games.

"Defensively, we just turned it up," McGrady said. "A couple of us couldn't shoot the ball tonight, but there are other ways to win. You have to play like it's your last game, your last quarter, your last minute. The East is going to be a dogfight down the stretch, so we have to be ready."

The Magic (33-30) strengthened their playoff hold, moving within a half-game of the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 5 spot. They are 2 1/2 games behind Milwaukee and Boston, who are Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.

"We still think we can get to No. 4 or No. 3 for the playoffs," said Magic veteran Monty Williams, who replaced Miller in the starting lineup Sunday. "And that would be huge. It's all about taking care of our home court, and you do that by playing great defense."

Despite making just seven of 24 shots Sunday, McGrady still led everyone with 22 points. He struggled with six turnovers, but he had six rebounds and four assists. Two days before, he scored 50 points in a 99-96 victory against Washington.

The Magic got 15 points and seven rebounds from Pat Garrity. Darrell Armstrong had 14 points. Williams and Troy Hudson each had 10.

Although McGrady and Armstrong (six-of-15) didn't shoot well, almost everyone else did. Horace Grant, Williams and Garrity shot better than 50 percent, as did all the reserves who played except for Hudson.

The Raptors (30-35), who snapped a 13-game losing streak Friday in Miami, continued their plunge in the standings. Vince Carter, from Daytona Beach, had 16 points and five rebounds, but he was outplayed by McGrady, his distant cousin.

Carter left the game for several minutes early in the fourth quarter after he was hit in the face by Garrity's elbow. Carter was trying to block a shot by Garrity, whose follow-through knocked him to the ground. Carter was face down on the floor for a minute before he was helped to the bench.

Although he complained of dizziness, Carter returned to finish the game but was ineffective.

Antonio Davis, whom the Magic tried unsuccessfully to sign as a free agent last summer, had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Morris Peterson had 12 points in a reserve role. Center Hakeem Olajuwon, once one of the premier players in the league, was ineffective. In one five-possession stretch, Olajuwon had three of his shots blocked and he committed two fouls.

"They [Magic] were playing great defense," said Raptors veteran Jerome Williams, who had just four points but contributed to a rough offensive night for McGrady. "They were forcing us into bad shots. They were hustling. They had a great energy level that we couldn't match."

This was the Magic's second consecutive victory in a home-heavy 21-game closing stretch that includes just six games against teams with winning records. That's the biggest reason the Magic still believe they can secure home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.