Orlando Magic find a way to win in falling short against the Indiana Pacers

In the final moments Wednesday, the Orlando Magic felt all the things they cannot do if they want to turn things around—the turnovers, the missed rotations, the missed shots. But throughout the fourth quarter and final three-quarters of the game, the Magic felt the things they must do to win games.

For the first time since Banchero's injury, it felt like the Magic had a repeatable and capable path to victory. The question will be whether the team can repeat it.

That may not matter much at this stage. The game still ended in a disappointing 118-111 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

The question now is whether they can walk it. And whether they can do it consistently enough to win and survive. For now, it feels like the Magic are inching closer.

"I think we did learn something on this road trip," Franz Wagner said after Wednesday's loss. "We continue to get better. The stretches where we struggle are getting shorter and shorter. We have a lot more games to improve and figure stuff out. I think for the most part our mentality today was good. We never gave up. We showed a lot of character in the second quarter."

Under that intense pressure of the final 5:15, while trailing by 11 points, the Magic finally looked more like themselves. They held the Pacers scoreless for more than four minutes behind some stifling defense. The offense slowly found some rhythm and the Magic inched closer as the time ticked away.

The Magic competed and had a chance to win.

But the margin for error was too small. With 33.9 seconds left, Jalen Suggs got caught on a screen allowing Tyrese Haliburton to get free for an open three. He finally made it to make it a five-point game with 30 seconds left.

The Magic had run out of time and made too many critical errors when they had chances to take control of the game. Orlando was not ready to get over that hump.

The Magic allowed the Pacers to go on a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to expand the lead to 11 points in a stretch that symbolized how the Magic have struggled this week.

They missed good looks, split free throws (they went 20 for 26 at the line compared to the Pacers' 24 for 26, two points lost on the margins) and fouled to bail the Pacers out. The Magic still have a big hill to climb.

They lost at the end of the day and that matters. But so too does the lessons the Magic have hopefully learned. They can put together what they need to win games. And that is a path forward.

Defense must lead the way

It starts with the simplest thing. Orlando has to defend at a high level.

This Magic team is built on its defense and it has often been the defense that has betrayed the team during this run. There should not have been such a clear drop-off defensively without Paolo Banchero. He is not the linchpin to this team's defense.

Orlando did not have a good defensive game Wednesday, giving up 121.6 points per 100 possessions. They gave up 38 points in the first quarter and fell behind by 18 points early. They opened the fourth quarter in a close game allowing the Pacers to make 10 of their first 12 shots to open that 11-point lead.

But there were also long periods where the Magic's defense was downright suffocating. It was not just the close to the game where the Magic worked their way back into it.

Orlando went to a 2-3 zone defense in the second quarter to turn the tide. The Magic forced the Pacers to 7-for-20 shooting in the period and it was a new game by halftime.

Overall, Orlando did a good job limiting Indiana's fast-break opportunities, holding the break-neck Pacers to 12 fast-break points. Once the Magic got organized, they slowed the game to a crawl and much more to their liking.

The Magic turned their defense to offense with 12 fast-break points, matching the Pacers. That is necessary with the team struggling to hit from the outside.

Defense has to lead the way.

"I think there was a point where we got seven stops in a row and we were able to get out in transition and run to get those easy baskets that we talked about," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Wednesday's loss. "When shots aren't falling as they were not again tonight, the ability to get those easy baskets in transition by allowing your defense to create your offense which is what we need."

Orlando knows its defense is the ticket to success. During this five-game road trip, the Magic posted a 109.3 defensive rating, the ninth-best in the league. That will get the job done if the Magic could score at all.

Attacking the paint

For the first time since Paolo Banchero's injury, the Orlando Magic started to find some offense. Orlando lost some pace in the first quarter, but as the team's defense picked up, it found some scoring.

No, the Magic did not shoot the ball well. They were just 7 for 25 from three (giving up five makes to the Pacers). Orlando will need to make threes at a higher rate at some point, even if the team shoots at a lower volume.

But the Magic did not settle for threes. There was a definite focus on trying to attack and get downhill to the basket.

The Magic scored a season-high 70 points in the paint, making 35 of 54 (64.8 percent) shots in the paint. That was an area of weakness in the last few games. The Magic not only missed on the perimeter, they missed on the interior. And they were not getting enough opportunities to score inside.

The 70 points represent the most points in the paint in a game for the Magic since the Dec. 26 win over the Washington Wizards last season. It was the second time with more than 50 points in the paint this season.

Additionally, the Magic dominated the offensive glass with 18 points on 10 offensive rebounds. Those extra opportunities were vital to keep the Magic in the game and steal some hidden points and extra chances to score.

With the Magic's inconsistency from deep, the Magic needed to get downhill and to the paint and find extra bites at the apple. They need to score in the paint and get to the foul line. But that has been an area the team has struggled so far this year.

There are still clear areas the team needs to improve. If the path were easy to walk, the Magic would not be seeking silver linings.

The Magic have to make some outside shots. And 16 turnovers for 13 points were killer, slowing momentum at the very least. Orlando's defense has to be more consistent and more consistently elite.

But there is a clear path. Orlando was competitive for the first time since Banchero's injury. And while 70 points in the paint is excessive, it is not impossible to repeat for this team. Nothing in Wednesday's game felt too abnormal.

Orlando knows now what it needs to do to win. Now the team just has to do it.