One thing is true: Desmond Bane is always talking.
It is some talking that probably helped the Orlando Magic save their lead. With less than a minute to play, Desmond Bane drove in on Yanic Konan Niederhauser. The rookie blocked the shot, but after it bounced off the backboard. Bane made sure the referees knew that, and the Magic took the lead for good with 1:28 to play when replay confirmed the goaltend.
After the Magic got a stop by trapping Kawhi Leonard and forcing the ball out of his hands, Bane got the rebound and slung a touchdown pass to Paolo Banchero for a dunk and a four-point lead.
Bane let his game do the talking as he went shot-for-shot with Leonard in a 36-point effort to will the Magic to a 111-109 road victory. It was another feather in the cap of a revived Bane, who has become so much more than what the Magic imagined when they acquired him in the summer.
He was unconscious and carrying the team, just as he has done so many times before this season. It is hard to imagine where the Magic would be without him.
After struggling so much early in the season, Bane has become completely reliable. Going on a tear over the last 20-plus games that the team probably could not even have imagined.
The Magic certainly do not want to think about where the team would be if they did not have him.
Bane has delivered for the Magic in every way imaginable. For a player who cost so much, Bane has delivered a ton. He has been a saving grace in an otherwise disappointing season.
Bane turns the corner
There was a point early in the season when it felt like the Orlando Magic had overextended themselves on Desmond Bane or did not quite know how to use him properly.
He was struggling to make threes, and the team was struggling to get him attempts. And this was with the team at full strength.
In the Magic's first 10 games, Bane averaged only 14.2 points per game and shot 29.3 percent on 4.1 3-point attempts per game. It was panic-inducing, especially with the slow start the Magic were getting off to.
Throughout the whole start to the year, Bane urged patience saying he would be fine in the long run. The team seemed to believe he would round into form.
Bane's scoring quickly rebounded to where it was last year, but his 3-point usage still seemed off. It did not help that the Magic had to use him more on the ball and as a primary creator and attacker. His shooting still lagged behind.
But Bane has now clearly turned a corner. He is far more comfortable now.
"I just think it's chemistry," Bane said after Sunday's win. "I was a new piece being added to the team. I think everything just takes time. I feel like I'm in a good spot. Trusting my work and just playing hard."
He is now averaging 20.1 points per game, shooting 48.3 percent from the floor and 38.8 percent from three on 5.3 attempts per game for the season. He has nine games of 30 points or more, including back-to-back games with 30-plus points this weekend.
Even if his shooting has not always been there, Bane has been one of the Magic's most reliable drivers, shooting 53.5 percent on 11.0 drives per game, according to data from Second Spectrum. He is shooting 57.8 percent on 6.3 field goal attempts per game within 10 feet.
That has been boosted by a real scoring binge from Bane. He has been on a heater for the past two months.
Since Jan. 1, Bane is averaging 21.7 points per game and shooting 54.8 percent from the floor and 44.8 percent from deep on 5.7 3-point attempts per game. He has added 58.2 percent shooting on 9.8 drives per game and 64.2 percent shooting on 5.9 field goal attempts per game within 10 feet.
That is certainly closer to what the Magic imagined when they acquired him.
"His process is going to remain the same," Wendell Carter said after Sunday's win. "Early on, he was struggling a little bit. But one thing about it is that he stuck to what he knows he's good at. Now we're seeing the benefits of what trading for a guy like that does. His continued elevation shows he's one of the best in the league at his position. He's exactly what we need."
The Magic invested a lot to acquire Bane. His arrival is what brought a mountain of expectations to Orlando.
While the team has struggled to pull all the pieces together, nobody has been disappointed with what Bane has brought to the table.
Bane delivers an edge
More than just his shooting, the Orlando Magic knew they needed someone who could give them an edge. They needed someone who could match and grow their hunger to win.
The biggest play of the game was not Bane's go-ahead layup that was goaltended with 1:26 to play. It was Desmond Bane stealing the rebound from Derrick Jones Jr. and scoring a putback to make it a two-point game with 3:56 to play.
That was simply Bane refusing to lose the game.
"You cannot say enough about Desmond Bane," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Sunday's win. "He is just a flat-out winner. He is going to find a way no matter what. Beat up, banged up, it doesn't matter. He's going to find a way to will his way to a win. That's what he brings to this group: the toughness, the focus, making shots, getting downhill. All those little things throughout the game, he's making the right plays."
Mosley said Bane is someone whose toughness feeds into the rest of the group. That is a toughness the team will continue to need.
There has been a lot of that will and determination throughout the season -- whether it was that game-winner against the Portland Trail Blazers that turned his season around early or the big shots he made to beat the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Cup's group play round.
Bane's experience, poise and edge have proven valuable. He is one of the only players who have won a Playoff series, and, even amid the chaos of this season, he has kept a seriousness and intensity that has kept the team on track.
Bane has been everything the team could have hoped for.