After a four-game losing streak, the feeling of a win is refreshing.
The mood in the locker room and in shootaround for the next game is a bit brighter. The weight of the streak is lifted, and it is completely freeing.
The Orlando Magic were desperate for the feeling of a win just to prove they were on the right track that they had been feeling for so long.
Any team can win one game, though. The question is whether the Magic can build on that win. That has been the issue the team has faced for much of the past two months, winning consecutive games just once since Dec. 1 and mostly alternating wins and losses in the meantime.
The Magic's four-game losing streak sparked a bit of a crisis because Orlando has not banked enough wins to sustain a poor couple of weeks.
Wednesday's win felt like a breakthrough. The Magic defended well, particularly in a 40-20 third quarter, withstood runs from the Miami Heat to maintain their lead, and pushed the deficit out late in the fourth quarter.
The win marked the Magic's first non-clutch win since the NBA Cup quarterfinal against the Heat. It was rare to see the Magic get to the end without sweating.
Or maybe they did sweat it because the Heat chopped the double-digit lead to six in teh final minutes and had a three to cut it to a signle possession.
That is still the thing with this team: There is still a lot of inconsistency. The Magic have not quite been able to put teams away. Winning is still difficult, even if the team is moving in the right direction and doing more of the right things.
There is still work to do to reach the level the team hopes for.
"We've been talking about it I felt like since right before we played Cleveland," Desmond Bane said after shootaround Friday. "In stretches of those games, it felt like we had it. It's just about building and embracing what it is we want to accomplish on both ends of the floor. I feel like we are trneding in the right direction."
Up-and-down play
The Orlando Magic have plenty of reasons for the up-and-down play. Injuries and then players returning from injury have been a constant for the team this season. But that still does not make it feel any better.
The team has struggled to put together anything consistently. They have at times lacked an identity and cohesion that could be taken for granted the past few years.
The defense has collapsed, falling to 15th in the league at 114.3 points allowed per 100 possessions. The offense, which showed promise early in the season, has settled back near the bottom of the league, ranking 18th in the league at 113.9 points per 100 possessions.
Things have been worse since Franz Wagner's injury on Dec. 7, when this spout of inconsistency really began. Orlando is 24th in offensive rating at 111.8 points per 100 possessions and 26th in defensive rating at 117.0 points allowed per 100 possessions.
The Magic are just 10-12 since Wagner's initial injury. It has been hard for this team to make up ground.
"I think it's hard to be consistent when you are changing things," coach Jamahl Mosley said after shootaround Friday. "To that point, what we are doing is staying consistent with our routines, staying consistent withour habits and staying consistent with our gameplan. Not changing it up so much per opponent but sticking to what we do."
The Magic have been hunting for that process for a while now. They have been searching for that thing they need to do to right the ship. The process has not been easy to follow. If the Magic could click into place, they would have done it already.
Trusting the process
As much as fans may hate it, this is really about trusting the process.
The Orlando Magic have seen enough how the results can turn in the team's favor when the group does so. That is what led to the win over the Heat.
The Magic have to play their game and be locked in for the full game. That has been the challenge as much as anything.
"One game at a time. I feel like we can't let the past pressure the game that's coming up even more," Tristan da Silva said after shootaround Friday. "We just have to do our job, focus on one possession at a time and continuously do that for 48 minutes. I feel like we have been having lapses in games where we let the game slip a little bit. As long as we are locked in, there is nothing that can go wrong."
One game at a time was the message Jamahl Mosley delivered to the team after Wednesday's win. That is what it will take for the Magic to climb the standings and get back into the playoff race.
To make up that ground, the Magic need to focus on themselves. Desmond Bane said it will take attention to detail on both ends. Orlando must minimize the lapses that lead to runaway quarters. The team must have the poise to withstand and answer runs as the group did in Miami.
The Magic know the next challenge is the most important one. And that is what they will face in a Toronto Raptors team that is similar to the Orlando Magic -- a dogged defensive team that overcomes any offensive shortcomings.
This is the exact test the Magic need.
"I think it's going to be a dog fight," Bane said after shootaround Friday. "It was up there in Toronto. We felt like we let one get away from us. We know ehter's no trickery with them. Whoever plays harder is going to come out and win the game. We need to have the right mentality from the start."
Momentum is the next day's pitcher.
The win on Wednesday means nothing if the team does not copy the same intensity and energy in Friday's game. It means nothing without building that consistency.
Orlando hopes it is finding some stable ground -- with the promise of a big return in the near future. But this is the challenge the Magic have struggled with all year.
Will this be their chance to find stability at last?