Monday night against the LA Clippers, coach Jamahl Mosley lamented all the little plays and possessions the Orlando Magic had given away. That was a game that was there for the taking, but the Magic could not make the plays down the stretch.
It is late in the season for lessons. But that was one they needed.
The lesson they hoped they would not need was a lesson in effort, intensity and precision. But the Orlando Magic found themselves down 11 points late in the third quarter against the San Antonio Spurs. A lethargic defensive effort eventually seemed to make them pay.
Orlando had to find their will to win. They had to impose their determination and style on a game that was getting far out of hand. A game where they did not have control and played against their type—firing seemingly indiscriminately from three without free throws to supplement the offense.
They had to do that and make all the plays they did not make Monday night.
There is simply no margin for error in a game like this. The Magic had to win. They had to prove they wanted it.
The Magic found that will and that determination in a 116-105 victory, temporarily climbing into seventh in the East once again. They found that will and determination to close the game.
Orlando finished the third quarter on a 6-0 run to close the gap to five points at the quarter break. They powered past San Antonio with a 37-21 fourth quarter.
When the game was on the line with three minutes to go, Wendell Carter, lambasted for his four-rebound performance against the LA Clippers against Ivica Zubac's 20 total rebounds and nine offensive rebounds, skied between three San Antonio Spurs players for a critical rebound.
After the ball was knocked out of bounds, the Magic swung it to the often lambasted Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who buried his second three of the quarter and sixth of the game. It gave the Magic an 11-point lead and felt like the backbreaking play for a game Spurs team.
"I think our ability to sustain our effort, step up in big moments, the same thing we talked about in our meetings today from last night, the carryover that was going to be needed," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Tuesday's win. "I thought their toughness and focus level was really big time."
Seeking their identity
The Orlando Magic have been trying to find themselves, it seems, all year. They have been hunting for consistency of any kind since the injuries overtook them in December. It has often felt like the Magic are chasing ghosts.
There is no getting back that lost potential or what the team was supposed to be this season. There is no getting back all that lost time. Orlando has simply had to make the most of the time it had left and to make the most of what is left for the team this season.
Still, the Magic have struggled to do even that. They have struggled to put all the pieces together. It has been a repeated theme throughout the season.
And when it came to winning time, the Magic did not always show the will and determination that made them one of the league's darlings to open the season.
Orlando gutted out wins with regularity, often overcoming their shortcomings and still coming out on top. That was one of the hallmarks of this team. It had been a while since the Magic had a win like that or won like that with regularity.
That is as much a part of the Magic finding themselves as anything else. It has been difficult for this young team to find the answers.
"I think for both of us [Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner], the season has been up and down with injuries in and out," Franz Wagner said after Tuesday's win. "It has been a season of huge challenges for us, producing every night and producing a lot of offense. I think there have been a few learning moments as well. But I think we have done a good job sticking with it and obviously you need teammates as well that allow you to do that."
With 24 points apiece from Banchero and Wagner, the duo has now scored 20 points each in the past nine games, the longest streak in Magic history and the second longest in NBA history by a duo 23 years old or younger.
Everything sprouts from the star players and both stepped up in big moments to keep the Magic afloat and finish the game. They played their parts throughout the game.
Wagner scoring 15 points in the second quarter and spearheading the run that started in the third quarter and bled into the fourth to take the lead.
Banchero was frustrated all game with his inability to get to the line. But he poured in 11 points in the fourth quarter and contributed 10 rebounds as he soaked up attention. He played his best with the game on the line.
That enabled the supporting cast to make their mark.
The run that put the Magic ahead started with Cole Anthony challenge a Stephon Castle layup and turning that into a dunk from Anthony Black.
It continued with Caleb Houstan hitting a three and Franz Wagner hitting a floater with a foul to tie the game. It kept going with Paolo Banchero getting himself going for 11 of his 23 points. It continued with a Jonathan Isaac tip dunk and defensive plays around the basket.
"Finding ways to win and trusting one another as well as trusting their teammates," coach Jamahl Mosley said of his star duo after Tuesday's win. "I think it says something about your two stars that they can play off of each other, play with each other, trust each other and communicate with one another. It's a beautiful thing to watch when those two can play and bounce off each other and continuing to get the others involved by sharing the basketball and moving the basketball and trusting that ball movement."
It finally came from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, hitting three of his seven 3-point makes in the fourth quarter to help ice the game. The Spurs were the ones to lose composure and let go of the rope, unable to find the shots or makes to keep up with a Magic team that was suddenly dialed in on both ends.
Orlando just had to snap to attention after a lethargic start to the game and a poor third quarter that nearly derailed the game.
Throughout the past month, the Magic have shown the elements that could have made them the team everyone imagined—from their defense, to Banchero's heroics, to even Caldwell-Pope's shooting.
Orlando has needed this final element—a will to close games out. The determination to win on even bad nights to get wins.
At this point, they all count the same. And the Magic are doing what they always hoped to do: Peaking at the right time.