Lenny Wilkens had mentioned earlier this month that, if the Raptors were going to snap out of a see-saw funk that saw them lose to Memphis, get past Chicago with a late surge, need overtime to beat Atlanta, then score 72 points in a home-court loss to the Clippers, it would take a greater commitment to defence.

That message obviously did not fall on deaf ears.

Even though it's taken the better part of a month ? if not the entire season ? for the Raptors to show signs of latching on to their coach's defensive schemes and becoming comfortable with playing zone defence at times, it's clear they've finally turned a corner.

"It's hard to say for sure when five guys or even 10 guys are clicking at the same time but, as of late, we've played pretty well on defence," said Keon Clark, who'll start in place of the injured Hakeem Olajuwon at the ACC tonight, when the Raptors put their two-game win streak on the line against Boston (8 p.m., TSN).

Former Toronto Raptor Alvin Robertson is off to prison.

The two-time NBA all-star, who has a lengthy record of altercations with women, was sentenced yesterday in San Antonio, Texas, to serve three years in prison for a probation violation despite a long-time girlfriend recanting her original report to police that Robertson raped her.

Although Robertson testified in court, "I absolutely did not rape anybody. I never committed a sexual assault. I'm screaming in the wilderness," the judge was unmoved.

In imposing the sentence, Judge Sid Harle said he found it "more likely than not" that Robertson raped the woman during a Nov. 17 visit to her San Antonio residence. The woman testified that she accused Robertson of rape to get even with him after he was disrespectful of her during a sexual encounter that was consensual.

The Raptors are missing two starters but the Junk Yard Dog has found a bright side.

"It actually makes it easier for the coaches," Raptors forward Jerome (Junk Yard Dog) Williams said with a smile. "It's more minutes for the guys who are left."

The Raptors learned on Tuesday that starting centre Hakeem Olajuwon will be out of the lineup for the next four to six weeks because of an injury to his right quadriceps. The team also is missing starting forward Morris Peterson, who fractured his right index finger on Jan. 2 and won't be available till mid-February.

Williams has been starting for Peterson and Keon Clark will join the starting lineup in place of Olajuwon tonight when the Raptors play host to the Boston Celtics at the Air Canada Centre.

The Toronto Raptors have signed guard Jermaine Jackson to a contract through the remainder of this season.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Jackson, 25, joined the team Jan. 10 after being signed to a 10-day contract. A second 10-day contract expired Tuesday and the Raptors had to either sign Jackson for the remainder of the season or place him on waivers.

The six-foot-four, 210-pound point guard has played in only one game so far with Toronto, recording two points and one assist in eight minutes against Minnesota on Jan. 25.

Toronto Raptors centre Hakeem Olajuwon will miss the next four-to-six weeks with strained right thigh, the NBA club announced Tuesday.

Olajuwon suffered the injury in the second quarter of Toronto's 106-97 home win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday. He left the game after scoring eight points.

"I was going to play through it," Olajuwon said. "I just decided to tell the trainer that it was swelling. I was told how long it would take after the MRI, and I was surprised."

The Raptors said the injury will not require surgery. Olajuwon will begin an intensive rehabilitation program once the swelling subsides.

Olajuwon has appeared in 36 games this season for Toronto, averaging 8.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.75 blocks. He missed nine contests from Dec. 19 to Jan. 6 with an infected toe.

The first quarter often provides the first telling sign of whether the Raptors have come to play or simply are content to just show up on the court.

In their past two games, the Raptors have imposed their will in the opening 12 minutes.

By jumping out and making their shots and playing solid defence, the Raptors parlayed two dominant first-quarter efforts into two convincing wins.

When they beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-100 on Friday night, the Raptors shot 60.9% from the field and led 30-21 after the first quarter.

In Sunday's 106-97 win over the Orlando Magic, the Raptors made 68.2% of their shots and led 34-16 after one period.

"For us it all starts in the first quarter," Raptors forward Jerome Williams said. "When we come out and do the job defensively, we're able to score some easy points. "We're a tough team to beat when we jump out in front."

Indeed, the numbers support Williams' claim.

All season long, Toronto Raptors fans have been waiting for the sleeping giant to awaken.

And now that Antonio Davis has stirred from his slumber, the Raptors are starting to play like the contenders they were touted as during the pre-season.

"I think from this point on, if we just carry this same type of aggression and passion with us, I don't think we'll ever look back and regret what we've done," said Davis.

Last week, the Raptors' power forward issued a challenge to his teammates -- play with some heart, play like you love it.

The team responded. In what could eventually be seen as the turning point of the season, Toronto recorded two huge wins -- a 106-97 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday and a 107-100 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves last Friday.

Davis looked liked the dominant player that guided the team through last year's playoff run, bashing the boards and going up for huge dunks. He scored 35 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in the team's two big wins.

It would be unfair to pin all the Raptors' previous disappointments on Davis since the team had been underperforming on a few levels. But his presence on the court, during the heat of the game, wasn't having the same impact it had last season.

Until now.

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."

Vince Carter took pleasure in beating Tracy McGrady.

Carter outscored his former teammate by five points as the Toronto Raptors ended Orlando's three-game winning streak with a 106-97 victory over the Magic on Sunday.

"I look forward to playing against him," said Carter, who scored 32 points. "You want to play well just because of who it is. Sometimes with other guys, you know you have to do it, but it really doesn't mean anything."

Carter, guarded by McGrady, made his first six shots on a variety of jumpers and layups, finishing with 15 points in the first quarter as Toronto led 34-16, their biggest first quarter lead of the season.

"He had the home court behind him," McGrady said. "He was pumped and energized. He started off with a hot hand."

McGrady, playing his second game in Toronto since leaving as a free agent two years ago, was booed every time he touched the ball but managed to score 27 points.

Guarded by Jerome Williams, McGrady had three turnovers and just two points in the first quarter.

"I started off a little soft," McGrady said. "The crowd was booing and I was just trying to feel out Jerome, and it took a quarter to feel him out."

Keon Clark added a season-high 20 points, and Antonio Davis had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who have won two straight.

Darrell Armstrong had 20 points, and McGrady added 10 rebounds for the Magic, who never led.

"Vince was fired up," Toronto's Chris Childs said. "He was playing against his relative, he was playing his friend, and a guy that is just as good as he is. He accepted that challenge."

Carter went 13-for-23 from the field. He also had seven rebounds and four assists.

"It's going to be a great rivalry for a long time," Carter said. "We're family and we both want to win. It's fun playing against him."

McGrady played much better in the second quarter, while Carter was in the locker room, getting treatment for an irritated right quadriceps muscle.

McGrady scored 13 points in the second period, starting with a two-handed dunk. But Childs' three-point play gave Toronto a 24-point lead, its biggest of the game.

McGrady helped rally Orlando, and his reverse dunk, blocked shot and two free throws brought the Magic within 13.

Another McGrady dunk pulled Orlando within 11, but Carter hit a jumper, and Alvin Williams made a layup just before the buzzer to give Toronto a 61-46 halftime lead.

"Even though McGrady made a few good moves to the basket with some power dunks, the fans kept booing," Jerome Williams said. "They were outstanding."

McGrady's alley-oop dunk and two free throws narrowed the lead to nine midway through the third quarter. But Carter followed with a tip-in, and Toronto went on a 6-0 run.

Armstrong scored six straight points, and Horace Grant's three-point play narrowed Toronto's lead to nine with 2:05 remaining. Carter's layup gave Toronto a 102-91 lead with 1:48 left.

Clark's layup made it a 13-point lead with just over a minute remaining.

Notes: Toronto C Hakeem Olajuwon left the game in the second quarter with a swollen right knee. He did not return. ... The Raptors shot 53 percent, Orlando 44 percent. ... The Magic beat the Raptors in McGrady's first game back in Toronto last April.

Today, Vince Carter can have his cake and eat it too.

On the same day the Raptor turns 25 ? a milestone in birthday terms, the quarter-century mark ? he also will be acknowledged officially as a starter in this year's NBA All-Star game for the third consecutive year. Not only that, Carter has clearly established himself as the most popular player in the NBA.

For the third straight annum, No. 15 was the runaway vote-getter in the league's all-star balloting. He's the people's choice. The fans' primo pick above heavyweights like Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and even the ageless Michael Jordan.

However, his journey from rookie phenom to 25-year-old, fourth-year pro has not been one long love story for the Raptors star.

For every accolade ? an Olympic gold medal, rookie of the year, two million all-star votes, for instance ? there's an accusation. He's not a leader. He's not Jordan. He's too wimpy when he gets roughed up. He was rude at the Olympics. He shouldn't have attended his commencement ceremony the morning of a playoff game in Philly. He can't ? or won't ? play defence.

Because he's catapulted this once sad-sack Toronto club from league punchline to headliner, Vincent Lamar Carter has earned the type of celebrity that has forced him to grow up, warts and all, in public.