If there is one thing that the Orlando Magic believe about themselves it is that if there is time on the clock, they will do everything they can to win. Even in the face of a Stephen Curry frenzy, they were willing to fight to the end and give themsleves that chance.
The Orlando Magic trailed by nine with 4:01 to play (the mirror of their defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies last week). The game seemed over considering Curry's flourishes.
But Paolo Banchero scored five quick points to cut it to nine. He found Wendell Carter in the corner for three to answer a Stephen Curry three. Two free throws from Banchero cut the deficit to two with 1:55 to go.
After another Stephen Curry three, Franz Wagner answered by getting fouled on a three. The Magic would not quit. They are not quitting on this season and whatever they can salvage from it. The question is whether it is enough.
It was not enough in the face of Curry.
With the Magic down by one possession, the Warriors grabbed two offensive rebounds before Curry got fouled and made two free throws to put the game finally out of reach for a 121-115 win.
The Orlando Magic had the response they needed to their frustrating and embarrassing 40-point defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. They fought and clawed their way back from the abyss. They raced ahead and punched first going up by 17 points.
They did all the things they needed to do to win. . . except for stop the unstoppable. Except for stopping Stephen Curry on his way to 56 points, including 22 in the decisive third quarter.
At this point in the season, there are no moral victories. And the Magic now have to ask themselves how they will respond when they seemingly have all the answers.
"The man had 56 points. There is no aside from Steph. He had 56," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Thursday's loss. "He had a heck of a night. Obviously, it was him making shots, but they had to be generated from somewhere and it wasn't all just in the half-court. I would have to go back and look at how we were handling possessions as well as what allowed them to get out on that run."
Orlando was pleased with much of what happened. The team could not contain Curry, who broke their defense once he caught a rhythm. The Magic struggled to stay afloat and find the rhythm that staked them a 17-point lead.
The response they needed
In the first half, the Orlando Magic moved the ball and played with energy and intention. They attacked the rim and took advantage of mismatches and confusion. They hounded on defense, even if Curry found some space.
The Magic shot 65.1 percent from the floor and 7 for 14 from three. They had 16 assists at halftime. Banchero scored 24 of his 41 points in the first half and made 10 of his 12 shots.
They forced eight turnovers for 13 points and scored 11 fast-break points. They attacked the paint for 30 points, making 15 of 20 in the paint.
This is what the Magic were always supposed to be. Franz Wagner said it was one of the better halves they have played in a while. It was the exact energy and intensity they needed to give themselves a chance.
"I think we definitely responded," Wagner said after Thursday's loss. "I think we saw how the stuff we actually do in practice will carry over in the game. And a lot of the stuff the coaches are telling us that we're working on is working. It's not going to be perfect. It's not the end of the world to lose this game. We had too long of stretches in the game where we didn't play close to our ability. That ended up costing us the game."
This has been a repeated theme lately and throughout the season. The Magic's offense goes quiet, and the whole game splits at the seams.
Orlando's offense slowed to a crawl again as the team fell back into its bad habits -- over-isolating and settling for mid-range jumpers or 3-pointers. The team's rhythm from the first half disappeared.
The Magic went 9 for 21 overall and 2 for 6 from three. Banchero went 2 for 9 and 0 for 3 from three in the quarter. It was not until late in the quarter that Franz Wagner got going, scoring nine of his 27 points.
By then it was too late. The Warriors turned six turnovers into eight points and Quinten Post got cooking with 10 points to open the quarter with all the attention on Stephen Curry. And then Curry went on his heater.
The Magic had no answers.
"I think in that third quarter, we stalled out a little bit," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Thursday's loss. "I think that at the end of the day for what we need to do, you've got to keep doing the things that got you success in that first half. That was simple—we shared it, we moved it, got it around the horn and then whether the ball goes in or not, it has energy with it and so I think that's one thing that we'll continue to look at."
That has been part of the challenge all season long. The ball moved and had the energy missing for so long this season. Orlando looked like a functioning offense in the first half—140.4 in the first half compared to 100.0 in the second.
That energy dissipated in the second half. The ball slowed down as they played against more set defenses with the Warriors hitting shots. It staggered the Magic all before Curry went supernova.
What comes next?
They made the response and still got knocked down. They trusted the process and then lost it. So what comes next?
What happens to a team that is struggling this much and searching for answers find some only for it to be ripped away? Can a team truly trust the process over the results?
That is the challenge ahead as the magic close this homestand with three teams well below .500 and their postseason hopes in the balance.
"I think it's just us not being able to withstand the runs," Paolo Banchero said after Thursday's loss. "When a team goes on a run, you either have to lock in and get stops or execute on the offensive end and get good looks. I don't think we did either in the third quarter, so they came storming back. When you let a player like that get going, it's really hard to come back."
The Magic should still point to all they did right and look for a way to build upon it. It took a historic performance from a Hall of Fame pantheon-level player to defeat them.
But there is some doubt creeping in. Orlando knows it will not reach its lofty preseason goals or make progress on last year.
All the team can do is respond the way it did in this game. They must get back to work and find a way again.
"If we can respond that way and play that hard consistently and have that energy and have that spirit, we are going to put ourselves in a very good position," Mosley said after Thursday's loss. "That's what you're asking. How do they respond, which they always do and we always do. That's going to put us in a better position if we can play that hard and understand what we can learn from this game."
The question is how many times can they do this? How will they respond next?