Tracy McGrady and his teammates tried hard not to get caught up in the hype and hoopla surrounding his second return to Toronto.

They tried too hard.

They nearly slept through it.

The Orlando Magic fell into an early hole, then spent the game trying unsuccessfully to tunnel out, losing 106-97 to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, moving another step back toward the .500 mark.

The Magic (23-22) are home against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, still unsure where they fit in the Eastern Conference race.

The Raptors (26-19) used the return of McGrady, who left for Orlando as a free agent two summers ago, to raise their emotions at tip-off. The Magic tried to treat it like just another game.

And it wasn't.

"I thought our guys tried to stay too under control, too cool. They tried to not let the atmosphere affect them," Magic Coach Doc Rivers said. "Last year, we fed off their emotion, and used it as our own. This time, we tried to avoid it. I thought before the game that we were ready. We weren't."

The Magic beat the Raptors last season in McGrady's initial return, boosting their level of play to match a boisterous, almost-vicious sellout crowd.

Although McGrady was bracing for another avalanche Sunday, all he got was a light snowfall. And it relaxed him.

The booing wasn't as loud. There was nothing thrown on the court. There wasn't even a good, hard foul to rile him.

"It was almost like we-miss-you booing, instead of a we-hate-you booing," McGrady said. "And I tried not to get caught up in everything. I came out soft, and everyone fed off my lead, which cost us."

Raptors forward Vince Carter, McGrady's cousin, recorded 32 points, seven rebounds and four assists. He was sizzling at the start, hitting his first six shots and scoring 15 points in the first 10 minutes. He provided key plays throughout, stopping every Magic run.

McGrady had 27 points and 10 rebounds, but he started slowly, making only one of two shots for four points in the first quarter. He let marginally talented Raptors forward Jerome Williams dictate what he could do.

"I tried to just feel him out, but it's not often I face someone as energized as Jerome was," McGrady said. "I kind of laughed at the boos. Maybe I should have gotten mad, should have been more aggressive."

The Raptors jumped to a 25-8 lead, making 11 of their first 13 shots. They led 34-16 after the first quarter.

"That's just too good a team to think you can climb out of a hole like that," Magic forward Horace Grant said. "In a game like this, you have to match their intensity from the start, and we didn't do that."

The Raptors also received good play from forward/center Antonio Davis, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Davis, who owns a home in Orlando, wanted to sign with the Magic as a free agent this summer, but they couldn't clear enough salary-cap space.

Reserve Keon Clark, originally drafted by the Magic in 1998, had 20 points and six rebounds. He also was playing with more than his usual fire.

"We have to carry this passion and aggression from this point on," said Davis. "Vince knew how important this game was for us. When he has that look on his face, you just give him that ball and you follow his lead."

After his quick start, Carter left the floor in the second quarter and went to the locker room for treatment to his right thigh. But he returned showing no signs of a problem. The Magic gave him no problem. McGrady -- Orlando's best defender -- hardly slowed him.

"I thought that was a heck of a game for us," said Carter. "It was important for us to start quickly, and we did. We're playing at a high level, and a high energy again. We needed another game like this."