Change, in some cases, certainly can be good. But considering the way the surging Orlando Magic are playing now it is easy to see why they yawned at the passing of Thursday's NBA's trade deadline and resisted altering their team.

Rested and ready after four days off, Orlando continued playing well and dismantled the up-and-coming Los Angeles Clippers in a 119-102 rout before 14,143 fans at the TD Waterhouse Centre.

The one-sided victory was important on several fronts. Orlando (28-25) moved three games over .500 for the first time this season. And the Magic's win -- combined with losses by Washington and Boston -- moved them into sole possession of the fifth seed in the log-jammed Eastern Conference. They are just two games back of the Celtics for the fourth seed.

"We're playing so well right now and I'm glad we didn't mess up that chemistry," said Magic star Tracy McGrady, who had a game-high 22 points despite playing with the flu. "It's important sometimes to just keep the team you're dealt. We're very comfortable with each other now, and I'm glad we kept everybody we started with."

Orlando particularly was fresh and fired up for this one, racing to a 15-point lead in the first half and pushing it to a whopping 27 points midway through the third quarter. Los Angeles, still without Lamar Odom (wrist), had won a night earlier in Miami. The Clippers, the NBA's youngest team, are 20-10 in Los Angeles, but just 7-19 on the road.

Dallas, Boston, Indiana and Minnesota pulled off major trades to ready themselves for the playoffs, but the Magic did nothing to improve their smallish frontline. General manager John Gabriel said he fielded several calls Thursday, but none of the trade talks ever got serious.

Orlando, which hosts Philadelphia on Saturday before embarking on a seven-game road trip, is playing as well offensively as it has at any point this season. In the four games since the All-Star break -- three of them lopsided wins --Orlando is averaging 111.2 points. Orlando is 19-8 when it scores at least 100 points.

"Our ball movement right now is about as good as it gets," Magic coach Doc Rivers said. "When we score the points we're scoring it's really tough for us to lose."

As has been the case several times this season, veteran point guard Darrell Armstrong jump-started the Magic in the third quarter with a flurry of points and hustle. He started a 20-3 spurt with a 3-pointer and a nifty alley-oop pass to McGrady for a dunk. In the third quarter alone, Armstrong had 15 points, two dunks, two steals and an assist.

Resting up for Saturday's showdown against Allen Iverson, Armstrong didn't play in the fourth quarter and finished with 20 points and six rebounds.

"I'm kind of just getting my legs under me in the first half, but the third quarter has been my quarter this year," Armstrong said. "I started eating my Hershey kisses again at halftime and I'm still drinking coffee before the game. What can I say? It's giving me a lot of energy."

McGrady missed the morning shootaround with a touch of the flu and started slowly, but still had his way with the Clippers offensively. He topped the 20-point mark for the 39th time this season.

All-star forward Elton Brand, who missed the Clippers' win in Miami on Wednesday, registered his 38th double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds.

With McGrady's energy sapped by the flu, Miller carried the offense in the first half. He played with the kind of aggression Rivers has been asking for, attacking the basket and actively looking for his shot. He had 17 points in the first half, hitting two 3-pointers and half of his 14 field goal tries. The Magic led 58-46 at the half.

"Right now every win is so big because in the Eastern Conference you can go from eighth to fifth in one night," Rivers said. "Chemistry is so underrated in this game. Our guys get along, they all accept their roles and they play well together. Any trade we might have made would have affected that."