Paolo Banchero was feeling his rhythm all game. An 18-point second quarter got him talking and letting the Atlanta Hawks know he was "busting" them as the FanDuel Sports Network camera picked up.
It was a signal and symbol of his confidence. The battering ram was back. But he and the Orlando Magic needed some finesse and confidence to beat the Atlanta Hawks.
In a game where the Magic again struggled to shoot threes and had to attack the paint with reckless abandon to stay in the game, it was the 3-point shooting that saved them. It was confidence that saved them. It was defense that saved them.
Orlando fell back on its core tenets and made the shots to secure the crucial victory coming out of the All-Star Break.
Cole Anthony and Paolo Banchero hit back-to-back threes to spark a 9-0 run that broke a 103-103 tie and a potential collapse. Banchero poured in 36 points, 11 rebounds and five assists to lead the Magic to a 114-108 victory over the Hawks, a statement win considering the standings implications and their first win streak since Dec. 23.
It may not be much and the Magic had to pull themselves from the abyss, but they found some swagger and aggression to score a critical victory. They looked like themselves in almost every way.
Their defense led the way as it should, helping erase an early 19-point deficit. Magic basketball was tentatively back.
"When you get stops and you start seeing the ball go through the hoop, the ball starts popping," Banchero said after Thursday's win. "You are making it tough on the opponent to score. That feeds into our confidence and our energy and leads to better offense."
Back from the abyss
It has been a while since the Orlando Magic played with that kind of confidence and swagger. Finding it on this day after the way things started was a statement, too. The Magic had to face all of their demons and frustration from the last six weeks.
Orlando trailed by 12 after one quarter, shooting 8 for 32 and giving up 4-for-6 shooting from three. They turned it over twice and gave up 10 free throw attempts.
Their offense looked dead in the water and the defense looked just as slow coming out of the break. They fell behind by 19 early in the second quarter.
It seemed like the Magic were back in a deep pit. But the team promised to return to its hounding and aggressive defense and use that to power the offense.
Orlando found that groove again, hounding the Hawks into tough and contested shots at the rim, blocking seven shots and forcing nine turnovers.
Atlanta scored only 48 points in the middle two quarters and shot 28 for 74 (37.8 percent) the rest of the game. The Hawks shot 28 for 60 in the paint and 14 for 42 after the first quarter.
The Hawks made only 7 of 29 from three the rest of the game. That defense charged the Magic and allowed them to find their offense.
The Magic tallied 26 fast-break points off of just nine turnovers. They pushed the tempo and tried to beat the Hawks down the court. That increased tempo helped Orlando find some offensive rhythm and get back to what works for the team.
"That's what got us back in it was we sat down, got stops and got out and ran," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Thursday's win. "I think that was the biggest key. When you can trust your defense to allow you to get easy baskets. That's what we're asking these guys to do. We're asking these guys to bear down and get stops when we needed them."
That defense is the catalyst for everything. But Orlando needed to find its confidence again. It needed to find this swagger to dictate the game.
The Magic worked their way back into the game thanks in part to the Banchero's 18-point quarter but mostly because of that defense that has become synonymous with their success. The kind that has often been absent during this losing stretch.
The Magic's defense has always led the way. That was always the formula to success. That is how this team wins.
"I think that's a big thing for us. We get a lot of confidence in our offense from our defense," Cole Anthony said after Thursday's win. "The more we can turn it up on the defensive end, the more it will help our offense out."
Finding their confidence
They have not always been confident in that. They have not always put the pieces together. Certainly not in the last few weeks. They have not had much to hang their hat on.
They needed that feeling. That is where Paolo Banchero's breakthrough in the second quarter meant so much.
He was chatting and jawing at players. The whole team was throughout the game. There were four technical fouls called in the game. The Orlando Magic were getting under the Atlanta Hawks' skin.
It was the kind of trash talking though that brings confidence. Banchero was letting everyone know he was feeling it and backing it up with his play.
They needed that feeling. They needed to believe in themselves again. The Magic needed to exude that confidence. He needed it to play like himself again.
The talk was a sign of his aggression and his feel for the game. It was a sign that he seemed more normal.
That everyone fed off that was a sign of the team finding itself again. The Magic are capable of big wins still.
"You can feel the energy there," Mosley said after Thursday's win. "When he makes shots and he is attacking the basket, getting downhill and getting to the free throw line, you feel his energy. The group feeds off his energy. That's the type of group this is, they feed off of each other's energy. if one guys is going, they're going to respond to it."
That was what stood out about the game. Banchero had his swagger back and the team had its swagger back.
Cole Anthony had big shots and was unafraid of the moment. He is fearless as Mosley described him. He made the plays when Paolo Banchero and Franz Wanger soaked up all the attention, scoring 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
The team played the way it had missed for so long this year. The team played Magic basketball.
Orlando was not perfect. The team missed 12 free throws and coach Jamahl Mosley lamented the team's difficulties on the offensive glass, where they gave up 15 offensive rebounds. The Magic still have plenty to improve.
But this was a necessary step. Orlando needed that belief and confidence back. They got it in a big way.
Down 19 points, needing to lean on their defense and finding their star players' rhythm, the Magic got that swagger back. At least for one game.
It is at least something the team can build on at least.