Desmond Bane understood the season was at a tipping point after their double overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns.
A game like that, which goes down to the wire, can indeed be a tipping point for a team. How they respond to losses like that one, or the ability to gut out a win like that, can determine whether a season is a success or not. It can be the thing that builds momentum or halts it completely.
Jalen Green's buzzer-beating three could be a back-breaking moment that sent the season spiraling.
But the Orlando Magic turned the tide in their 111-109 victory over the LA Clippers. They controlled much of the game and played with energy, but found themselves down four with three minutes to play.
Just like they did at the end of regulation on Saturday in Phoenix, they rallied to tie the game. This time led by Desmond Bane. They got the lead, and they held on.
This is a much different story if Bennedict Mathurin's three goes in. That is the nature of the sport. The difference between success and failure is often one shot.
The Magic avoided a potential emotional letdown with the win Sunday. They turned frustration into momentum and channeled their energy the right way.
They hope it is the start of something in their Playoff push.
"[Saturday] night was emotional. Double overtime game, lose at the buzzer," Bane said after Sunday's win. "I was telling some of the guys, I remember last year in Memphis, we lost three games in a row like that, and it felt like the backbreaker of our season. You are right there and come out with a loss. I'm really proud of our group. I thought we did it the way we wanted to do it, too -- imposing our will, sitting down and guarding. It was good to see."
Of course, the trick is now what you do with it.
Momentum is the next day's pitcher. One win does not matter if it does not build and lead to another.
And that has been the problem for the Magic. This has been a season of stopping the bleeding, but now the Magic ned to make their own momentum.
Making your own momentum or let down
Desmond Bane, one of the veterans of this team, even at just 29 years old, had been through this before. He saw how close losses just gut the confidence of decent teams.
It was last year when the Memphis Grizzlies were 38-20 on Feb. 25 (almost exactly a year ago) and proceeded to lose three straight games by single digits.
The Memphis Grizzlies lost 114-113 at home to the New York Knicks on an OG Anunoby three with five seconds left, then lost 130-128 at home to the San Antonio Spurs on a De'Aaron Fox jumper with two seconds left, and then lost again 132-130 at home to the Atlanta Hawks on that wild Dyson Daniels-steal-to-a-Caris LeVert layup at the buzzer.
The three straight home losses on the final possession were a turning point for the Grizzlies. They lost another game and then answered with a four-game win streak. But Memphis was just 11-11 the rest of the season and stayed in the Play-In Tournament.
The losses derailed their push.
The Orlando Magic had something similar happen last year around this time too. But they responded the opposite way, finding the resolve to rally to finish the season.
They went 1-6 on a critical homestand that included four losses that came down to the final possession -- including a loss to the Grizzlies.
It left the Magic at their lowest point at 29-35. But the Magic answered on the road trip that followed. They rallied to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks on the road and found their footing to go 12-6 for the rest of the season.
It truly is about how a team responds. And that is what the team is trying to show.
"We've had a lot of roller coaster ups and downs throughout this year," Wendell Carter said after Sunday's win. "I think a game like tonight gives us a little bit more confidence going into the next game and coming back home for our homestand. It's important to steal as many games as possible, especially on the road. This is going to push us even more. Our standard will continue to rise, and we'll continue to do a better job going forward."
The Magic made a good response Sunday to get back in the win column. That is the kind of response they need to continue to find.
But now the Magic need to solve one of their biggest issues from this season.
The new problem, keeping momentum
For as much as the Orlando Magic have struggled this year, they have not fallen on their faces like they did last year. They have remained a solid team and have stayed above .500.
But while the Magic have not had any extended losing streaks -- going 16-16 since Franz Wagner's injury in early December -- they have not had any extended win streaks either. Their three-game win streak just before the All-Star break was just the third win streak of any kind since Dec. 7 and the third three-game win streak of the season.
Orlando has not been able to string together victories this season.
If there is skepticism the Magic have finally turned the corner, it is that there have been wins like this before that seemed to signal this shift only for the Magic to drop the ball and fall back into bad habits and patterns.
The Orlando Magic will learn a lot with how it plays in Tuesday's road trip finale against the Los Angeles Lakers and then the four-game homestand afterward.
The Magic still find themselves in the race to avoid the Play-In. It will take a solid string of wins to pass the Philadelphia 76ers and claim that spot. Nobody is handing them anything.
Orlando must make its own momentum.