The Orlando Magic trailed by as much as eight points in the fourth quarter. It looked like all the excitement and eagerness for the season were going to be for naught. You could feel the air rushing out of the balloon for all the excitement and anticipation for this 2025-26 season.
But in the Magic's huddle, Paolo Banchero said there was no panic or frustration. There were some uplifting words and one clear message: We are going to win this game.
This is something. This is a characteristic that can last. This is what teams have to do sometimes: They have to find a way to win.
And so at every moment that the Orlando Magic needed a big play, they found one to hold off the Miami Heat 125-121 in their opening game.
"We found a way," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Wednesday's game. "I think in this league, you do have to find ways, even when it is not a pretty game. That fourth quarter was big for us, needing to get timely stops."
It was Wendell Carter powering up a putback layup with less than four minutes to play, pushing the Magic into the lead. It was Jalen Suggs taking a charge to preserve a tie game with less than three minutes to play.
It was then Wendell Carter chasing Bam Adebayo for a block, leading to an imbalanced defense that allowed Desmond Bane to find Paolo Banchero for a dunk and a three-point lead.
It was Jalen Suggs somehow hitting a fadeaway jumper over Norman Powell to give the Magic the lead for good. It was Desmond Bane diving on the floor for a loose ball with 40 seconds left to ensure the Magic kept the lead and hitting two free throws to make it a four-point game.
There were a lot of things to clean up leading to those moments. This was only a hint of the team the Magic could be.
But when the game was on the line, the Magic showed their resolve. Good teams must find a way to win. The Magic found their way.
"It's important for us to go through these moments and understand that we need everybody to be locked in for every moment," Franz Wagner said after Wednesday's game. "You don't know which play can win us the game."
The Magic found those little plays that the Heat could not.
Seeking consistency, identity
This opening game did not look or feel like Orlando Magic basketball for long stretches.
The Magic exited the game with a decent 108.0 defensive rating -- they were second in the league with a 109.1 defensive rating last year. But they lamented how inconsistent their defense was. They gave up far too many points and baskets. It was never certain their defense would be there.
They gave up fast break points and let the Heat run right back at them. Miami made shots and hit difficult jumpers. The Magic never could completely put the Heat out of reach or put them away with their newfound shot making.
But Orlando reached down and found its defense late in the game. It was not about the entire game, but what the team needed at the critical points.
Sometimes, nobody asks questions. They just ask whether you won. The Magic stepped up to find themselves at these critical points.
"I think we've got good character as a group," Franz Wagner said after Wednesday's game. "A good mentality in practice and such. That showed up. But at the end of the day, we want to play better for the majority of the game. But also understand that you are going to be in these situations and not play perfectly every game. It's good to come out with the W."
Orlando showed just enough of its defensive potential and identity to build on. It was there at the critical juncture. The Magic played their best when the game was on the line.
That is an important statement in its own right.
The foundation
This was just the first game of 82. The season's first game is not a grand statement of anything. It is an outlier because there is no other data. No patterns have been established. So much of this game could easily be forgotten.
But the resolve the Magic had to show to win the game mattered too. That is something that could last. That is the character trait of a champion.
That will be the foundation of their success.
"We're always going to find ways to win each and every night," Jalen Suggs said after Wednesday's game. "They are going to look different. That's the tricky part about 82 [games is] we could be the best team in the league, but night to night, teams are going to be hot, you can get cold, runs may not go your way, calls may not go your way. All those things affect and change the trajectory of the game. To stay locked in through all that and not get too high or get too low, I think we really put that into action tonight."
The team was able to hash things out in the huddle and find a way to take advantage of the opportunities the game gave them. It was about simply finding a way to score one more point than the Heat did.
That trait will be valuable for a team that believes they can do some very big things this season.
Good teams find a way to win. They never take themselves out of the game. They have the resolve to win.
If the Magic are the team they believe they can be, this is what they showed in their opening game. And this is something that will serve them well throughout a long season.
"The expectations are exciting, the pressure is exciting," Paolo Banchero said after Wednesday's game. "It is a privilege for people to have high expectations for your team. We want to embrace that here. Tonight, I wouldn't say it was our best performance. But we were still able to grind out the win, stick together, and there was a lot of good as well."
This was not the Magic's best performance. But their resolve could make the difference in their season.