Cole Anthony has never lost his spark or his energy.
This has not been the season Anthony imagined for himself. It has not been a season that tracked with the first four in his career where he played a prominent role and was one of the best scorers of the bench in the league. Anthony has been as critical of himself as anyone else.
The reality is he has fallen out of the rotation, left in reserve when the team needs to fill in minutes or when injuries press him back into duty.
On Saturday, the Orlando Magic needed everyone with injuries, foul trouble and ejections stretching the roster completely thin. The question for the Magic—for everyone—was who was going to step up?
Anthony has not stopped working even though he is out of the rotation. He was in shootaround working up a sweat and staying ready for a chance like this. At some point, he would take advantage.
Little did he know he would be basking in the praise of a raucous Kia Center having led the largest comeback in franchise history.
He has had a lot of moments in five seasons with the Magic, but none may have been greater than this one. Proof that his hard work to stay ready would pay off. That he was ready when his team needed him.
"Cole is incredible," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Saturday's win. "He was incredible tonight. I want to say this for the team, for the group, for people who won't understand what this kid does. He hasn't been playing great basketball and he'll tell you that. And he never stopped working. He never stopped coming to the gym. He never stopped talking to the coaches. He never stopped watching film. It's the belief that we have in him and the belief that he has in himself and the ability to keep working no matter the circumstances surrounding you."
After a tough season that saw him left out of the rotation and struggling to find his fit, Anthony had his moment.
Anthony finished with 35 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. He scored 13 in the fourth quarter, scoring in all the ways that made him such a key player for the last four years.
That included a thunderous putback jam that brought the deficit to 10 early in the fourth quarter (his first basket of the quarter) and several shots where he created space using his physicality. He gave the Magic the lead when he bumped into Tyler Herro and hit a fading jumper for an and-one.
He closed the game with four assists in the fourth quarter too. His eighth assist of the game was on a curl to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that gave the Magic the lead for good. His final assist saw him run several Heat players around a screen by Goga Bitadze before he found Bitadze rolling to the basket for a layup and a five-point lead with 30 seconds to play.
"He deserved more than this," Bitadze said after Saturday's game. "It's crazy to come in and not get consistent minutes and do this. I have watched a lot of NBA and I haven't seen that. Guy off the bench, doing this? It's crazy. I've been calling him a one-man army."
The Heat acknowledged they knew Anthony was a player who could get on a hot streak. They dropped on him betting on his poor shooting from this season to continue. They knew they were in trouble when he started cooking in the second half.
Shooters shoot
A shooter often only needs to see one go in to get themselves going. Cole Anthony just has not seen much go in this season.
Anthony is averaging a career-low 6.2 points per game and shooting 40.4 percent from the floor. He is making only 30.6 percent of his 3-pointers. Some of that is because Anthony fell out of the rotation.
Anthony has been honest about his struggles throughout the process. He has been hungry for an opportunity to break through.
It has peaked through on occasion. Anthony twice scored 16 points this year before Saturday's game. His 16-point effort in the win over the Charlotte Hornets helped the Magic break out in the fourth quarter to secure a gutsy win.
Anthony has been the leading scorer on losing teams. He has embraced contributing to a team with playoff ambitions. That is what made the game Saturday as special.
"It meant a lot. Honestly, I'm really happy I was able to contribute to the team getting a dub," Anthony said after Saturday's game. "That's the most important thing at the end of the day. I wanted to feel like I am contributing to a win, I felt like I did that tonight. There was no better feeling."
Opportunity ahead
The question will be when will Cole Anthony get that feeling again.
Presumably, the team will get healthy and the team will have to make decisions about its rotation. Cole Anthony probably falls out of the rotation behind Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black at point guard and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Gary Harris on the wings.
The Magic are still feeling some effects of injuries though. Jalen Suggs and Gary Harris are QUESTIONABLE for Monday's game. The team is still hurting and trying to piece things together with all the injuries on the roster.
The team will face plenty more games when it will need a spark. Anthony can be that spark plug. This will not be the last game Anthony helps them win.
Orlando is hoping Anthony will continue working and will be ready when that time comes.
"He's a professional scorer," Caldwell-Pope said after Saturday's game. "When he checks in, we look for that energy. We know what he brings to the table offensively. Tonight he came out and showed up for us. We had guys down, we need that next-man-up mentality. He was one of the guys who gave us energy off the bench in the second half."
Anthony has not changed as a player despite the struggles this year. He has to find the spark and the efficiency. But given the time, he found it and delivered for the Magic in a big moment.
Likely Monday against the Boston Celtics, he will get that opportunity again. The Magic will need him as they try to get healthy again.
All that work will pay off as he gets that opportunity. He will have to find his moment again.