ORLANDO, Fla. -- For a decade now I have been telling people that, in my opinion, Vince Carter was past his peak.

The way I see it, or perhaps I should say the way I've seen it, is that Carter reached the apex of his career in 2000, back when he was all the rage at All-Star Weekend, bringing some pizzazz back to the Slam Dunk Contest, then traveling Down Under where he was the best player on the gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic team in Sydney and pulled off what is still, by far, the best in-game dunk I have ever witnessed, leaping over the top of 7-footer Frederic Weis of France as he rose up for that slam.

In the ensuing years, he became the player who alienated Toronto, first by saying he wanted out, then by admitting there were times he did not give 100 percent. They still boo him lustily there every time he touches the ball.

Next came his 4½ seasons in New Jersey when he was supposed to lead the Nets to the championship that had eluded them when they went to the Finals in 2002 and '03. But each season, they came up short.

And then there was this season, his first in Orlando, and the first time in his career when he was not considered the single best player on his team, a distinction that will belong to Dwight Howard long after Vince has hung up his sneakers for good.

Through all those years, Carter seemed to have a disdain for the spotlight, a reluctance to carry himself and conduct himself in the manner we expect from our NBA superstars.

He seemed reluctant, even passive. And around the league, he developed a reputation as someone who was soft. Younger readers might not even know he was once called "Half-Man, Half-Amazing," but that moniker failed to stick as his odometer kept rolling and his accomplishments stopped coming.

Knock him down, the saying went, and watch how long it'll take him to get back up.

Well, he got back up in a big way Thursday night in Orlando's 112-98 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, leading a fourth-quarter onslaught that turned a tight game into another romp.

Carter scored 11 of his 24 points in the final period without having to force things, using a mix of aggression, heady passing, timely defense and sharp shooting to keep the Magic the only team left in the NBA playoffs without a single loss on their résumé. (As a matter of fact, it has now been 35 days since they've lost at all.)

"There's no tricks; he's very, very motivated to win games. He likes being in this situation, he likes being on this stage," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "He needs to play to his instincts and be aggressive, and that's what we've told him. We try to get the ball into his hands and let him take the playmaking from there."

Carter's aggression was one of the more noticeable aspects of a game in which the Magic got huge contributions from every member of their core.

Howard made a concerted effort to shake off whatever frustrations he was feeling (and he was certainly feeling them after he took a shot to the nose that sent him to the locker room to stanch the bleeding) and played arguably his most solid game of the postseason with 29 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field and 13-for-18 from the line with 17 rebounds. Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson took advantage whenever they had a slower or smaller defender on them to score 20 points apiece, and Mickael Pietrus added 13 points off the bench -- a total that would have been higher had he not shot free throws like Howard had been shooting them up until this night, missing five.

"Rashard got his more throughout, but other guys all had big runs," Van Gundy said. "The ball movement was good and we got good shots, which isn't easy to do against a long, athletic team, and the hard hits Dwight took did not lead to retaliation. He really kept his head tonight, and he was hit hard."

Orlando outscored Atlanta 28-15 in the fourth quarter, but the moment that launched the momentum shift came at the end of the third when Nelson banked in a 30-footer at the buzzer to give Orlando an 84-83 edge heading into the fourth.

Carter then scored Orlando's first four points, made a 3-pointer with 8:48 left to get the lead to six, then pulled a shot out of the all-time hang-time reservoir he tapped more frequently in his younger years, floating across the lane and to his right as he turned in the air. He held the ball aloft in his right hand and released it after gravity had finally taken hold, the ball kissing off the glass and in to make it an 11-point game.

Finally, after 3-pointers by Lewis and Nelson off some exceptionally crisp and quick ball movement, Carter's driving dunk with 3:50 remaining made it 109-90 and left you asking yourself: "Wasn't this a close game not all that long ago?"

"I consider a closer not only a guy who makes shots but who makes plays and makes it easier for his team to put pressure on the opponent -- that was more so my mentality, and has been my mentality. Just being patient, that's who I've been for a long time, and I didn't want it to be different coming here to this wonderful team with a lot of scorers," said Carter, who seemed to enjoy being back in a place of importance, on stage at the postgame interview podium.

"I live for it," Carter said of winning. "I've been a part of it, and I've been away from it for a couple years. And the opportunity and excitement of first just being back in the playoffs; second, having the opportunity to play for so much, you know, I welcome it."

Words like that have rarely been heard out of Carter's mouth since 2000.

It's 2010 now, but it's never too late to start playing again like the player who so electrified the NBA, and the world, a decade ago.

ESPN Insider Chris Sheridan is a regular contributor to the Daily Dime.

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