ORLANDO, Fla, Feb. 21 (Ticker) -- Tracy McGrady scored 22 points and Darrell Armstrong added 20 as the Orlando Magic improved to a season-best three games over .500 with an 119-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

McGrady made 8-of-17 shots and Armstrong was 8-of-14. The duo did most of its damage in an 20-5 run over the first 6:19 of the second half, combining for 18 points as the Magic took a 78-51 lead.

"It a good win, especially with four days off," Armstrong said. "We came out with energy. The biggest thing Doc (coach Doc Rivers) keeps putting in our heads is finish the quarter out. A lot of times, teams usually get a little comfort zone on you right at the end of the quarter. "

The Magic also took advantage of the Clippers' defense. Orlando had 21 fast-break points and was 10-of-26 from 3-point range. Most of the 3-pointers were uncontested as Los Angeles rarely got back on defense.

NBA TV highlights from Clippers-Magic: 56k | 300k Tracy McGrady scored 11 of his 22 points in the third quarter. Fernando Medina NBAE/Getty Images

"They couldn't find their guys and guys kept getting wide open shots," Armstrong said. "I don't know what kind of pick-and-roll defense they were running. It was just wide open shots every time somebody came off a pick. It was just all over the place. So we'll take it like that."

One of the beneficiaries was Mike Miller, who had 17 points at halftime and finished with 19 on 7-of-21 shooting.

"Miller stepped up big for them," Clippers forward Darius Miles said. "When we were out in LA, Tracy scored like 47 points, but we stopped all the other players. Pat Garrity hit a lot of shots. Armstrong had fast breaks all by himself and Miller took it strong to the basket."

Orlando closed the first half with an 8-2 run, building a 58-46 lead. Armstrong began the decisive surge with a 3-pointer from the left side. McGrady followed with a layup that made it 63-48 with 10:28 left.

After Eric Piatkowski made a foul shot, the Magic reeled off eight consecutive points to put away the Clippers.

The Clippers had two chances to get within 10 points, but Corey Maggette and Michael Olowokandi missed easy shots.

After Olowokandi missed a hook shot, McGrady took the rebound and passed to Armstrong, who found the All-Star swingman with a lob pass for an electrifying dunk similar to the one he had in the All-Star Game.

"Darrell found me with an alley-oop," McGrady said. "That really gets the crowd into it, gets the team pumped. After that, everybody was pumped and ready to play."

While Orlando was running against Los Angeles' defense, its defensive effort was stellar in the third period. The Clippers shot 41 percent (9-of-22) and had five of their 17 turnovers in period.

All-Star forward Elton Brand led Los Angeles with 19 points and 15 rebounds, his 38th double-double of the season. Brand sat out Wednesday's win at Miami with a finger injury.

"This would have been a big win for us," Brand said. "But we fell behind too big. They were hitting big shots and we are very banged up.

Jeff McInnis added 18 points for the Clippers, who were denied their first sweep of the season series since 1991-92.

Quentin Richardson scored 15 points and Olowokandi chipped in 12 for Los Angeles, which allowed over 110 points for the 10th time this season.

Orlando has won three of four since the All-Star break. After Saturday's game against Philadelphia, it will embark on a seven-game, 10-day trip against primarily Eastern Conference teams.

"We can concentrate on teams we're familiar with," McGrady said. "Once we get this trip behind us, it will all be downhill. It should be a winnable road trip for us, but definitely no cakewalk. We definitely want to beat Philly Saturday so we can get some momentum heading into the trip. It's a big game because they are right there with us."