In one year, Troy Hudson has gone from being colder than week-old leftovers to as hot as a microwave.

Make that The Microwave. That was the nickname given to Vinnie Johnson, who was the third guard for the Detroit Pistons when they won NBA titles in 1989 and 1990. Johnson never started ahead of Isiah Thomas or Joe Dumars, but he could be counted on every bit as much as them for hitting a clutch shot.

Hudson is not going to replace Darrell Armstrong in the Orlando Magic's starting lineup for the foreseeable future. But he is averaging more than 13 points a game and shooting 50 percent from the floor this month as a reserve.

His productivity of late is in marked contrast to last season. Hudson's 4.8-point average and 33.6-percent shooting accuracy caused more than a few raised eyebrows as the Magic re-signed him three weeks before training camp.

"I know the offense. I know what the team needs from me. And I know what the coaching staff expects from me," Hudson said Monday night after pouring in 21 points against the Dallas Mavericks, including 16 during the second quarter. "So it's easy to play like that."

Hudson's best extended stretch of play has come while Armstrong has struggled with 1-of-10 and 3-of-13 shooting efforts. Magic coach Doc Rivers said he and his staff discussed having Hudson start, as he did in seven games last season when Armstrong had injuries. But Hudson's "shoot first, pass second" mentality held him back.

"We don't bring Troy in to run the team. We bring Troy in to score," Rivers said. "Well, if that's who he is, putting him in with Mike (Miller) and Tracy (McGrady) is not the smartest thing to do.

"When Tracy's flat or Mike's flat, we'll bring him in with them. But when Troy comes in, I see Troy as a point guard version of Vinnie Johnson. We bring him in and say, Try to get us as many points as you can get' because that's who he is. He's not a point guard. He's a scoring guard."

Both Hudson and Armstrong drew praise from Rivers for their combined efforts in holding Steve Nash to 2-of-10 shooting in the 113-87 victory over the Mavs. A similar commitment to defense may be required tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks and Sam Cassell, who brings with him a 20-point average and a reputation of being tough for the Magic to contain.

"I'm comfortable and doing great at what I'm doing right now," Hudson said. "And I'm going to continue to do it for the rest of the year."

Armstrong played a season-low 23 minutes against Dallas because the Magic were so comfortably ahead. Between that and a three-day layoff going into tonight, he should be fresh -- although having to defend Cassell and Jason Williams of the Memphis Grizzlies on back-to-back nights could change that in a hurry.

"Right when Grant (Hill) went out, his minutes skyrocketed," Rivers said. "Now we've worked him back down. And the reason we worked him is because Troy's playing well."

Hudson is also 19-of-19 from the free-throw line this month and has hit his last 30 attempts dating back to Dec. 21. The franchise record of 47 consecutive free throws was set by Armstrong in 1999.