The last time the Orlando Magic were in the Kia Center, the discontent in the arena was palpable. A 29-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks seemingly shut the door on the Magic escaping the Play-In Tournament and sent the season spiraling to an inevitable conclusion.
Not even Franz Wagner's return seemed to change the momentum that evening.
Things were as bleak as they could be.
So what then to make of a three-game win streak and the Orlando Magic's 123-107 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday?
Can a blowout win against a Playoff team, even without three starters and nothing to play for after clinching the top seed in the East, make believers of everyone? Can winning five of the past seven games make it feel like the Magic have one more push in them?
Has this Magic team turned a corner?
Orlando will stick to its cliche of worrying about one game at a time. but leading by 26 and looking closer to the team the Magic were always meant to be, even with some flaws, makes it harder to dismiss this team like everyone might have a week ago.
"It's hard to think too much about anything else other than going to win the next game, to be honest," Jalen Suggs said after Monday's game. "I think for us, the main focus is coming out and improving. When we step on the court and play with that end-of-the-year urgency, knowing what's on the way and knowing what's in front of us, we have to go out and get these games. It's a lot to ask from everybody. I think everybody's in the right mindset for it. We just have to come out and continue to be intentional."
The Magic still have work to do -- and they will need help to escape a Play-In fate. But the Magic again responded to adversity, seeing their 26-point lead drop to four when they made the plays down the stretch in a 14-2 run to ice the game and earn the team a third straight win, their fifth victory in seven games and a tie for seventh in the Eastern Conference.
It bears the question then: Are the Magic a team to believe in again?
The formula to win
The Orlando Magic's formula to win has never been difficult to decipher.
They need to fly around on defense and force turnovers. They need to share and move the ball with speed and pace. They need to force their way to the paint and to the foul line, always staying aggressive. They need to be the most energetic team.
The Magic have too often lost that formula this year. They have not always played their best. And their difficulties in March, particularly during the six-game losing streak, buried them in a hole that seemed to question their identity.
Since the end of that losing streak, the Magic have found some footing, going 5-2. Notably, those two losses are a 52-point loss to the Toronto Raptors and a 29-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks, to defeats that are critical in the team's postseason chase.
But in the five wins, the Magic have a 117.3 offensive rating and 109.2 defensive rating, far closer to the way the team wants to play on both ends.
They put that on full display to build as much as a 26-point lead in Monday's win.
Orlando tallied 28 assists on 41 field goals, including 12 from Jalen Suggs. They shot 50.6 percent from the floor and 11 for 26 from three. They got to the line for 40 free throws (making 30) and scored 52 points in the paint.
On defense, Orlando forced 21 turnovers for 33 points. The Orlando Magic held the Detroit Pistons to a 103.9 offensive rating, marking the first time the Magic held opponents to less than 110 points per 100 possessions in consecutive games since the back-to-back with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks during the seven-game win streak.
The Magic were physical and hounding, making everything difficult for the Pistons, even if they found some pockets to score.
This is closer to the style the Magic have always wanted to play. If this is the way teh Magic are generally going to play, they have more than a chance.
The concerns that remain
Of course, things are not completely perfect.
As easily as the Orlando Magic built up that 26-point lead, they gave a lot of it away to turn this into a clutch game -- against a Detroit Pistons team missing three starters and several other key players. The deficit got down to four before the Magic had to make the plays to put the game finally away.
That has been a far-too-familiar script this season. The Magic have not been able to put teams away and still go through long scoring droughts, going away from what often builds their success.
"This time of year, you've got to win games," Jalen Suggs said after Monday's win. "I think everything down the stretch and everything throughout the game was pretty solid. It's just been something we've had convos about is putting teams away and not giving them life. . . . I think it is an intentional effort to come down the stretch and go finish and put teams away. It shows a lot of maturity in your squad."
Orlando hung onto win. But it has had to do that far more often. The team has dropped a lot of chances to avoid drama in the season's final week.
This is a team that has won five of the last seven, but it only has the win over the Phoenix Suns against a postseason team at full strength. Those two blowout losses still weigh heavily and feel right around the corner. Even the wins over tanking teams failed to inspire much confidence.
But right now, Orlando is coming out on top. And that is all the record cares about.
It is hard to say this team looks Playoff-ready. There is still much work to do. But they are moving in a better direction.
"We said we wanted to be playing our best basketball around this time," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Monday's win. "Winning four of the last six, that says something about what we're doing. it might not always be pretty every game, but we have to find ways to win."
Orlando has a lot of work to do in its postseason chase. But the team has gotten out of the doldrums they were in a few weeks ago. The team is scratching out wins again.
That at least gives the team a chance. And perhaps a reason to believe yet again.