The Orlando Magic made clear what their intentions were from the start of training camp. They were not hiding from their ambitions to win a championship and compete for a title this season.
For the first few weeks of the season they did not quite look or act like it.
There were some expected growing pains introducing some new players to the lineup. Everyone was clearly struggling to put all the pieces together.
During the last 12 games, the Magic have started to find that identity. They have started to resemble the team they thought they could be.
The only thing really missing was a statement game and a statement stretch to cement that status. A moment of pure invincibility and inevitability. That is what all the great teams have. That feeling in the back of your head that they are about to take complete control.
The New York Knicks may have been the first victim of the Magic's inevitability. This may have quietly been the first statement of intent for the Magic that they are ready for something bigger.
A nip-and-tuck game throughout featuring two proud defensive teams struggling to get stops suddenly turned into a blowout. A 13-0 run across a little more than two minutes turned a four-point game into a rout. The Knicks were simply left stunned and unable to get up.
The Magic's unrelenting identity proved too much in a 133-121 victory for the Magic. That run in the fourth quarter was decisive, devastating and defeating.
"I think if you are doing the right stuff and playing good basketball, usually the game rewards you," Franz Wagner said after Saturday's game. "Not just myself, but the whole team did a good job of keep finding the best shot. I think that's why not just me but a bunch of guys had good games."
Wagner scored 23 of his 37 points in the first half to match Jalen Brunson point for point. He had seven in the fourth quarter. Desmond Bane scored seven of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and Jalen Suggs had seven of his 26.
The Magic have scored at least 30 points in eight straight quarters, setting a franchise record. The Magic are confident and aggressive.
Once they found their defense, they wore down the Knicks to score the win.
The Run
The Orlando Magic's 13-0 run began with 8:31 to play in the fourth quarter, and the Magic were ahead 109-104.
Things could not have started any simpler with Franz Wagner spinning off of Mitchell Robinson to hit a fadeaway jumper and then Wagner coming around a curl to hit a three, one of four 3-point makes in the game.
That got the Magic a 10-point lead and some much-needed cushion.
But Orlando was prepared to press the advantage with some wind behind their sails. Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black checked back in to begin the defensive chaos.
After Jalen Suggs hit a corner three, Tristan da Silva deflected the ball in the backcourt to throw the New York Knicks off kilter. By the time Josh Hart got over midcourt, Anthony Black was chasing him from behind and slowing him up, and Jalen Suggs was coming up to help.
Black knocked the ball away from Hart. Suggs was able to pounce on the loose ball first. Hart was called for a technical foul for trying to push Suggs out of the way to get the ball. Suggs got up and immediately motioned to the crowd.
He understood what this moment would mean and the momentum behind it.
"It was huge," Suggs said after Saturday's game. "That's recognition of runs and momentum and energy. Bigger than basketball. Energy within us that is going on in the court, energy in the corwd, and taking full advantage of it. I think it was a huge play. When we're able to do that and turn the crowd up, it's so much fun. It's hard to respond and go back on your own run after that because the energy in the building is so contagious."
The Magic ended the run with Wagner hitting a running floater and Suggs running through the middle of the lane for a two-handed dunk, yet another sign of his growing confidence in his body after recovering from his injury.
The run made this a comfortable victory. It all came fairly suddenly.
All for one
Coach Jamahl Mosley has always preached a by-committee mentality. The ball finds the players it needs to, and it is on the players to step up. To make this kind of run and be the kind of team the Magic want to be, everyone will have a part to play. Everyone will play a role.
Franz Wagner needed to play the starring role, hitting threes and attacking the basket. It was Desmond Bane who had to close the deal, scoring after the run to keep the New York Knicks at bay. It was Jalen Suggs making all the hustle and defensive plays that have become vital to his and this team's identity.
But it was also Anthony Black continuing to show confidence attacking off the dribble. It was Goga Bitadze and Jonathan Isaac stepping up with Wendell Carter in foul trouble for much of the game.
It was even assistant coach Joe Prunty stepping in for Jamahl Mosley after Mosley stayed in the locker room after feeling lightheaded and dizzy.
This is who this team is too. They step up and support each other. Energy is contagious for this group.
"We have a bunch of guys who are very well connected," Mosley said after Saturday's game. "They stay pushing each other and stay bonded together. That says a lot about not just them but about the staff understanding what we needed to do. The most important thing to do was holding our standard and, two, winning the game. These guys knew that is what it was, and they found a way to get it done."
The Knicks the Magic saw on Saturday is not a Knicks team at full power. Their season series will end in December. This may not have quite been the big national statement their win was 10 ays ago.
Still, it was a statement of another kind. It was the Magic clearly stating they have something different that could propel them into title contention.
They have that added gear they can find that takes them to another level and buries opponents.