With a long vacation on the horizon and a vastly inferior opponent on the opposite bench, the Orlando Magic could have been ripe for a letdown Tuesday night.

Their 106-98 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at the TD Waterhouse Centre wasn't among their top efforts of the season, but it enabled the Magic to carry a 25-24 record into the NBA All-Star break.

Tracy McGrady, who will make his second consecutive All-Star Game appearance Sunday, had 29 points and eight rebounds for the Magic, who shot 50 percent from the floor to overcome 22 turnovers and being outrebounded 43-39.

"Tonight was one of those games where we could have let our guards down and started preparing for the All-Star break," said Troy Hudson, who scored 10 of his 22 points in the opening four minutes of the fourth quarter when the Magic put the Cavs away for good. "But we had to come in, be professional and take care of business. And that's what we did."

The Cavs (14-33), losers of 15 of their last 16 games, pulled ahead briefly during the second quarter. But the Magic went on a 13-2 run over the last 2:42 to take a 54-44 advantage at halftime and led by 18 points twice in the third quarter.

"The guys realized that this was an important game for us," McGrady said. "We definitely wanted to go into the break a game over .500. And Cleveland is a team we should beat."

"Darrell (Armstrong) didn't have great numbers," Magic coach Doc Rivers said of his point guard, who finished with 14 points and five assists. "But I felt his spirit really helped us, especially toward the end of the second quarter."

The Cavs got to within 74-70 late in the third quarter before Mike Miller's blocked shot of a layup by Wesley Person triggered a fast break that ended with a basket by Monty Williams. Behind Hudson's shooting, the Magic re-established an 18-point cushion in the fourth quarter before Rivers cleared his bench.

McGrady, who hoisted up 36 shots in Sunday's overtime loss to San Antonio, took 24 more against the Cavs.

The Magic had gone into the game tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference but only a game and a half out of fifth.

"An OK first half, but we can do better," Rivers said. "And we know that."

Wesley Person led the Cavs with 19 points. Andre Miller, the only player in the league averaging more than 10 assists a game, had 13 to go along with 11 points and seven rebounds. Miller played 44 of a possible 48 minutes.

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BACK IN UNIFORM Horace Grant was in the starting lineup Tuesday night for the Orlando Magic against the Cleveland Cavaliers after missing the past three games with an intestinal virus.

"I'm starting to get my strength and my endurance back," said Grant, who did some extra running after practice Monday and lifted weights in an attempt to get caught up.

Don Reid started against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Detroit Pistons and the San Antonio Spurs in his absence. Grant had 10 points and five rebounds in the first quarter against the Cavs.

Patrick Ewing, their other veteran off-season signee, sat out his 14th consecutive game because of tendinitis in his right leg. But general manager John Gabriel said Ewing is now able to run without pain, which would appear to increase the chances of the 39-year-old center coming off the injured list before the NBA trading deadline Feb. 21.

The Magic are one of several teams that have been mentioned in possibly acquiring Marc Jackson from the Golden State Warriors. A trade between the Warriors and the Phoenix Suns for Jackson was shot down over the weekend.

DOLEAC'S RETURN The first visit of the season by the Cavs to Orlando meant the return of Michael Doleac to where he spent his first three seasons. Doleac was out for two months because of a stress fracture in his left ankle, making him the Cavs' latest center to be beset by foot or ankle injuries.

"Bad luck. It floats around, I guess," said Doleac, who came off the injured list Jan. 26.

After the Cavs got into town Monday night, he got together with Magic forward Pat Garrity. And Doleac, who was traded to Cleveland on draft night for the rights to current Washington Wizard Brendan Haywood, said his parents in Portland received tickets to a Magic-Trail Blazers game in December courtesy of coach Doc Rivers.

"There's no bitterness at all," he said of any lingering aftereffects of the trade. "It's just part of the game."

GOOSE'S GETAWAY Jack Givens, who has been the color analyst on Magic telecasts since the team's inception, got an early start on the upcoming All-Star break. Givens won an all-expenses-paid trip to Honolulu for Saturday's Pro Bowl at an NFL-sponsored golf tournament.

Jeff Turner took Givens' usual place alongside play-by-play announcer David Steele. Dee Brown filled in for Turner as the Magic's radio analyst.