The Orlando Magic were cruising through the first half of the fourth quarter on Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Their defense locked down in the third quarter, playing with the toughness and intensity that has become the team's reputation and identity. This was as close as the team has looked to righting the ship.
Orlando gave up just 20 points in that third quarter, giving up a 83.3 points per 100 possessions in the quarter. The Orlando Magic built an 11-point lead and seemed poised to finish off the Portland Trail Blazers for one of their best wins of the season.
The team was in cruise control heading toward the final two minutes, holding a nine-point lead after extending it back out following a Blazers run. It should have been an easy night.
Things are never easy when you are trying to find some confidence and scratch out a win. Those 48 minutes are long. And even with a nine-point lead with 2:32 to play, the Magic were not out of the woods.
The Blazers would find the spark they had been missing in the second half. To that point, the Blazers had scored 101 points and posted a 111.0 offensive rating. They then went on an 11-0 run to take the lead and force the wild series of events that ended with Bane's game-winning shot.
The Magic made a lot of their familiar mistakes.
Their defense struggled with fouling. They had a pair of turnovers, including an offensive foul from Desmond Bane, and they had an offense that failed to capitalize on good looks.
It leaves eeryone to wonder 11 games into the season: How much of the Magic's problems are simply bad habits they can work through and how much is something that is not going to go away with this team?
The Magic will liekly find that out as they play to the end of the first quarter of the season at the end of the month, with several tough but winnable games on teh docket.
Orlando has won four of its last six games. In some ways the team has quietly stabilized things. But there is still some unease as Monday's finish showed.
The run that was nearly a collapse
During that run, the Orlando Magic missed four shots, including an Anthony Black dunk attempt and committed a charge. The Portland Trail Blazers used those misses to get out on the breaks and spread their offense out.
Orlando's offensive execution went stagnant. They were slow to move, but still missed their share of good looks. It was their defense unraveling as the Blazers hit a pair of Deni Avdija three-pointers and got to the line to ensure they scored points.
The miscommunication on the Jerami Grant alley-oop gave the Blazers the lead very briefly. The Magic could not retake the lead then because Paolo Banchero split his free throws.
It was a domino effect of bad happenings that helped the Blazers get back to the lead. It was a little bit lucky that the Magic survived at all.
But hey were all problems the team has dealt with all season and failed to overcome.
Orlando's offense still looks pretty clunky. It can bog down with a lack of movement, forcing Paolo Banchero or whoever has the ball to try to force things. The team still struggles to shoot -- or generate 3-pointers.
Turnovers also remain a problem. That was Jamahl Mosley's repeated refrain during the loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday. Orlando ranks 21st in the league in turnover rate at 16.2 percent. The team gives up 20.0 points off turnovers per game, 20th in the league.
It is one of the ways the Magic's defense has been weaker than it normally is, and why the defense has had some bad moments.
The Magic just do not feel like themselves right now. And everyone is wondering if the team can find that defensive intensity and consistency again.
Righting the ship?
Then again, it is still so early in the season. There is a lot of time to make corrections and get back to the way the Orlando Magic are used to playing.
It does not feel like it with some frustrating losses mixed in, but the Magic have played more like the first 45 minutes of Monday's game than they have not during the last six games.
Since the gut-wrenching loss to the Detroit Pistons, the Orlando Magic are 4-2. Their statistical profile looks more familiar.
The Magic are ninth in the league with a +7.8 net rating since Oct. 30. Their defensive rating is ninth at 110.5 points allowed per 100 possessions.
More surprisingly and encouragingly, the Magic's offensive rating is 10th at 118.3 points per 100 possessions. Yes, the offense is working and findin a rhythm.
In six games, it is boosted by the blowout wins over the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards and the 17 3-point performance in Friday's win against the Boston Celtics, which sent the Celtics into some soul-searching early in the season.
It is too small a sample size to say this is something permanent. But it is an encouraging sign.
It could become permanent with a good showing against the New York Knicks on national TV on Wednesday. There are plenty of difficult but winnable games on the horizon in the next week before that critical three-game Thanksgiving trip at the end of the month.
But that is what the Magic are seeking right now: Permanence.
They are trying to figure out what is their identity and what is simply some early season growing pains. They are looking to begin making their climb up the standings after an unusual start.
Consistency on defense -- and the defense is not elite or at the level the Magic are accustomed to yet -- will go a long way to cementing this identity. Slips in effort, intensity and detail cannot happen anymore.
Limiting turnovers and fouling will go a long way to creating stability. That may simply be a battle the Magic are fighting all season long.
But this is the time of the season where early season bad habits either get worked through or cemented. The Magic are still cementing who they are.
They have made positive strides. Monday's win showed they have done that. But there is still so much work to do.