Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley admitted before Tuesday's game against the Phoenix Suns that he was a little worried about how his team would start the game.
As much as he was confident in his team's ability to respond to Sunday's loss, you just never know. And during the last two weeks, his team has struggled out of the gate. There is seemingly a lack of trust in the team's overall performance.
That has been a question haunting this team for several weeks since they started losing seven of the past eight games. Could they grit their teeth when things are hard, when the calls are going against them, and the shots are not falling, and still find a way to win?
Excuse Mosley for being a little worried that his team could not find those answers. Even at this moment, when they absolutely need wins.
And that sound you hear is the relief that his team responded exactly how he needed them to.
For at least this night, the Magic looked like themselves, coming out with a flying defensive effort that forced eight steals in the first quarter and then finishing with a crazed defensive effort that saw the Orlando Magic hold the Phoenix Suns to just one field goal in the final 5:26.
That enabled the Magic to score the go-ahead bucket on a Desmond Bane layup and ice the game with a floating bank shot from Desmond Bane with 6.7 seconds to play, allowing the Magic to hold on for a 115-111 victory on Monday.
The win was a measure of relief. But, more importantly, it was a response to an embarrassing game. This was a win the Magic could be proud of.
"It wasn't always pretty what we did," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Tuesday's win. "Our guys' ability to respond and bounce back and respond the right way. That's what we asked for and that's what we asked them to do. And that's the competitive spirit that they showed tonight."
At this point in the season, the Magic need wins wherever they can get them.
They not only responded to that frustrating loss on Sunday with a stronger, more focused effort. They responded to the frustrations throughout the game.
And they won leaning on the identity that has eluded them all season long.
Defense leads the way
The Orlando Magic's biggest disappointment throughout the season has been the team's sudden collapse on defense. The Magic have not been the same reliable, physical and hounding defensive team.
That has ben on fuller display during this eight-game stretch with seven losses. The Magic were bleeding points and losing a lot of their togetherness and reisliency on that end.
If Orlando was going to turn things around, the defense needed to lead the way. That is the team's identity and its ultimate strength.
The response started on that end as the Orlando Magic held the Phoenix Suns to 21 points in the first quarter and forced eight steals. It was a rip-roaring start for the team as they built an early 14-point lead, turning the tables and assuaging fears of the slow starts that have doomed them.
That was a tone the team needed to set with its physicality on that end.
"I believe it was non-negotiable," Jalen Suggs said after Tuesday's win. "We talked about it the last few days. A lot of it was just checking in the mirror. I can speak personally: Are you willing to come out and do that for the full 48, not for yourself but for the betterment of the team? They vocalized how much they needed it and how much it helped. I think it did."
In all, the Magic held the Suns to 101.8 offensive rating. That is the Orlando Magic's best defensive rating since the win over the Milwaukee Bucks during their win streak. It had been a long time since the team was this dominant on defense.
Phoenix finished the game shooting 39.8 percent from the floor and 14 for 46 (30.4 percent) from three. The Magic forced 20 turnovers for 26 points off turnovers.
The defensive stand at the end of the game was the big stand out. Orlando got stops when it needed to and when its offense went cold. That is how the team won the game.
"We started the game the right way in the first, and we finished the game the right way with execution and stops down the stretch, end of game planning and end of game execution," Jamahl Mosley said after Tuesday's win. "The communication was at the highest level. Our guys did a really good job there. Now we've just got to clean up the in between."
Keeping the Suns from making a shot in the final 5.5 minutes gave the Magic the ability to make mistakes and find their offense.
They did not give in to the frustrations of a poor offensive night or the turnovers and mistakes they made. Their defense gave them a chance, and they took it in the end.
That is how the Magic were always supposed to play.
Gaps still to fill
It was clearly not all good. The Orlando Magic are not all the way back quite yet, certainly not after just one game.
The Phoenix Suns erased a 14-point halftime lead to tie the game heading to the fourth quarter. After two poor middle quarters defensively, giving up 35 and 38 points and parading the Suns to the foul line, the Magic needed to buckle down to win the game.
They again came out sluggish in the third quarter, with four turnovers on their first seven possessions, allowing the Suns to cut their 14-point halftime lead to four.
Orlando turned it over nine times in both the second and third quarters. The team finished with 25 turnovers, leading to 18 Phoenix points. That is part of what the Suns do, but this is also a sure way to leave the door open and a way to blow the lead against a quality opponent.
On top of this, the Magic gave up 13 free throw attempts to the Suns in the third quarter alone, including 11 to Devin Booker.
That is not the level of defense the Magic want to play. It made the game much tighter than the Magic's effort should have allowed it to be.
This is still a team cleaning up mistakes and hunting for confidence. And those mistakes nearly derailed the team.
But that is what felt different about Tuesday's win. They did not let these frustrations defeat them, even if they made the game closer. The Magic answered back with their defense to get a critical win.
"I think it says a lot about our group," Desmond Bane said after Tuesday's win. "To lose the way we did last game and lost seven out of eight. I think it says a lot about how we bounce back and played."
For a team that has been short on confidence and wins, that says a lot. It is something to build on.