In the third quarter of last Tuesday's game between the Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks, things started to get testy between the two teams. Going up for a rebound, both Wendell Carter and Onyeka Okongwu came down with it. The two got tied up and needed to be separated for a bit.
Words appeared to be exchanged. Suddenly the officials were involved. Georges Niang, always an instigator, got involved. There was a pull-apart between the two teams.
That is how testy things could get between the Magic and the Hawks. With control over the 7-seed on the line between the two teams and a nearly surefire matchup in the Play-In Tournament a week later, the two teams treated and approached their game like a playoff battle.
The Magic came out on top in that game, 119-112. The team took the lead late in the second quarter and held on, batting back a late run from the Hawks that brought the deficit to within six in the final five minutes. Orlando needed everything to win the game.
But the team came out on top, took control over the division and clinched it with a win the following night against the Boston Celtics.
Now they have to do it again against an opponent with plenty of motivation and plenty of familiarity.
"There is a familiarity that you definitely know," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Sunday's regular season finale in Atlanta, where both teams sat their starters. "But I think that's when, in these games, the little things matter. We played them close the majority of the game. So understanding what we can do, tightening up our details, focusing on the gameplan. We're familiar with them and they're familiar with us. So we've got to make sure we are doing all the tiny things to give ourselves a chance in the next game."
The Magic's victory over the Hawks last week is fresh in everyone's mind at this point.
Orlando knows that game did not go perfectly for the team. The Magic missed 10 free throws and gave up more than 30 second-chance points. In a lot of ways, Orlando kept that game closer than it should have been with these mistakes.
The Hawks are surely going to be more attentive and take advantage of these while working to foul less and be more physical in the paint. This will be a different game.
And in a battle of two teams that have been so evenly matched in three previous meetings, it is going to come down to who executes and does the little things better.
Both teams will have to be ready from the jump.
"It's not a playoff series where you can feel out the first two games," Paolo Banchero said before Sunday's game. "It's one game. You have to be ready to go from the tip. This is a team that we play a lot throughout the year. We're familiar with them, they're familiar with us. We know the threat that they pose any time we are on the floor with them. It's coming out with a laser focus and being focused on the one goal which is to win and doing whatever it takes in those 48 minutes to get the win."
That is perhaps what the Magic got away with and still won in Tuesday's game. They are going to need to fine tune those things heading into this Play-In game.
The challenging rematch
As important as last week's game might have been, it is not the game that ultimately determines whether the team makes the playoffs. The Orladno Magic, at least, already have one big win at home under their belt. Doing it again will be even more challenging.
It will be even more challenging because these two teams know each other. They know each other so well. And the Hawks know they can beat the Magic, too.
It was in February, after all, that the Hawks defeated the Magic 112-106. Trae Young did not even play well that game, shooting 6 for 17 and 1 for 8 from three with nine turnovers. The Magic could not keep up in the end, and Young took over the fourth quarter to score that critical win before the All-Star break.
The Magic, of course, answered with a big 114-108 win after the All-Star break. They trailed by 17 points in the first half and erased that deficit before halftime before powering past them in the second half.
The Magic have seen their best players show up against this team. Paolo Banchero averaged 33.0 points per game in three games against the Hawks this season. Franz Wagner averaged 28.0 points per game.
These are two teams that have been back and forth already this season. They have confidence but not overconfidence. They know they are in for a battle.
"Definitely being able to play them with something on the line already puts us in a position to be comfortable, knowing we're going to have to play them with something to lose," Jonathan Isaac said after Sunday's game. "I think we're in the right frame of mind. We got ready for that game, we prepared and we won it."
A strong finish
The Orlando Magic though are coming into the game playing better beyond the matchup they had last week.
Orlando has the momentum too. The team is 10-5 in its last 15 games with a 114.1 offensive rating (19th in the league) and 108.1 defensive rating (first in the league).
The Atlanta Hawks, meanwhile, are 8-7 in their last 15 games with a 121.4 offensive rating (fourth in the league) and 116.4 defensive rating (20th in the league). In three games against the Magic, Trae Young is averaging 28.3 points and 8.0 assists per game. He is shooting only 8 for 30 from three, though.
These are two teams that are opposites. Their strengths go against each other. That makes for an interesting fight.
"I think for both teams," Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said after Sunday's game. "The pressure is on the line. Everybody is going to come out to play. We're going to get their best. We have to stay together and sustain their runs and continue to just play how we've been playing and do what we do best which is our defense."
As difficult as the Hawks can be, the Magic know that they control a lot of what will happen Tuesday. That was something they stressed after practice on Monday. It has been something the team has stressed throughout the latter part of the season.
The belief has always been if the Magic play their game and take care of their business, they are capable of beating just about anyone in the league.
"I expect it to be a really tough game, obviously with a lot on the line," Franz Wagner said before Sunday's game. "They have a lot of experienced guys as well who have been in these situations before. I thought we played a good game last time we played them. I think if we play at our pace and are able to string some stops together, I think we'll be in good shape."
The whole season now though is being distilled into one game. All that familiarity will help them. But everything has to funnel through this one game.
The Magic know the Hawks' best is coming for them. Just as the Magic know they must play their best.