The Orlando Magic could feel the rush and the intensity rise at the end of Game 4. They could see the game slipping away and the energy change.
Orlando fought hard to get back into the game, finally cresting with a tie at 91-91 with 4:15 to play. The Kia Center crowd was at full throat. The Magic were feeling the energy as the Celtics called a timeout.
This is what the Magic talked about all season. They wanted these big games on their home floor. That was the driving goal. They knew they could empty the tank and find the surge from their home crowd to win games.
It was deflating then to watch the final four minutes of that game. The shots the Celtics made—whether it was the Kristaps Porzingis and-1 basket, the Jayson Tatum turnaround or Tatum getting fouled on the three-pointer. They all pointed to one seemingly undeniable fact:
The Magic ran out of energy with the intensity and precision they needed. They looked tired as shots fell short from Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter and Franz Wagner settled for a three rather than attacking Kristaps Porzingis as he had all game.
The Celtics were able to rev the engines and close the game. The Magic could not.
Now they must find the energy on the road to keep their season alive. After an emotionally draining loss in Game 4, the team has to find the will to stay in this series.
"It's going to take a special effort," Paolo Banchero said after Game 4. "I'm sure the fans are going to be really loud and trying to get their team over the edge and close this out. We've just got to stick together as a group. There aren't going to be too many Orlando fans cheering. We've got to create our own energy."
Tall task on the road
The Orlando Magic have a tall task to win on the road.
As a franchise, the Magic have not won a true road playoff game since the D.J. Augustin buzzer beater in Game 1 of the 2019 Playoffs. Orlando has lost eight straight true road playoff games (not counting designated road games in the 2020 Playoffs in the bubble).
Winning on the road in the playoffs is not easy. The Orlando Magic learned that lesson the hard way last year when the home team won all seven games in the series with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Magic always felt they could get a lift from the home crowd and made that a driving goal for the team all season long. They fed off the home crowd to win Game 3 and put in an intense effort in Game 4.
That is what made Game 4 so deflating. For the first time, they could not deliver on their home floor. Now they must win on the road.
If the saying goes that a series does not truly begin until the road team wins, the Magic are getting their first taste of what a series feels like now and the pressure of having to get one back.
"I think we control a lot of the stuff that happens in the game," Franz Wagner said after Game 4. "We can play a lot better. I feel like we still haven't played our best basketball. It wasn't all bad today. 91-91 with four minutes to go can go a lot of different ways. We'll be better in Game 5 and make sure we come out with the right mentality."
That will be the big challenge.
One game at a time
Coach Jamahl Mosley has said the team has been trying to focus on one game at a time for much of the last two months. It helped power the team to a 12-6 record to get to 41-41 and the 7-seed in the Eastern Conference.
That started after the Magic had to stare themselves in the mirror following a 1-6 homestand. They went to Milwaukee and took a victory and finished the road trip 3-2, including the rousing win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on national TV. That set the Magic straight.
It showed them they can find the energy on the road to win, taking eight of the final 11 road games in the regular season (remember the last one saw the team sit most of its roster on the last day of the regular season).
Orlando has had its backs against the wall for a while now. Tuesday will be no different.
"On the road, it's just us," Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said after Game 4. "We might have a few fans in Boston. Who knows? It's us and the coaches. We have to bring the energy ourselves."
Facing elimination
The Orlando Magic faced elimination twice last year. They rallied to win at home in Game 6 to force a Game 7, a game that everyone remembers and recalls fondly. They charged into the lead in Game 7 before giving way in the second half.
The lessons from that loss sat with them throughout the offseason. The Magic likely do not survive all of their injuries this season without that experience.
This series is a different animal though. It is a different team. At shootaround, Banchero said the team is excited for the challenge to force things back to Orlando. The mood was light and the team seemed loose.
But things will tense up as they get closer to the late 8:30 p.m. tip-off.
The game will come down to the little plays and 50/50 balls, turnovers, free throws and rebounds. All the little things that have decided every game in this series. At a certain point, these games become about will. And the Magic are going to have to find the will to win in the end.
"Our backs are against the wall now," Wendell Carter said after shootaround Tuesday. "We're facing an elimination game. We've been here before. We're going into this game playing as hard as we possibly can. Whatever happens happens. As long as we can walk away from this game saying I left everything out there, I'll be content with that."
That is all the Magic can do at this point. They must leave everything on the floor. The question is how much will they have in reserve after the way Game 4 ended. How much can they withstand with the energy the Celtics' and their fans will bring to Game 5.
Orlando has to find that energy and find that will to keep this series alive. It is a challenge they are looking forward to.