The Orlando Magic were at their lowest, down by 17 points late in the third quarter to the Utah Jazz.
About that turning point that the Magic were hoping to cement defensively? It disappeared quickly as the team fell back into its frustrating habit of letting the offense affect their defense, their mood and their energy.
Energy is such an amorphous thing. It is so difficult to measure or quantify. You simply know it when you see it.
And it can turn in your favor just as quickly.
This game turned when Moe Wagner knocked an offensive rebound -- after Jalen Suggs missed two free throws -- off a Utah Jazz player. That was the beginning. He hit a three on that play to spark a 15-2 run as the Magic's spirits lifted and they cut the deficit to seven to end the quarter.
Wagner made several more energy plays, tracking down rebounds and draining threes on his way to 13 points -- 11 of them in the second half, beginning with that run.
The Magic were on their way back.
"One comes after the other," Moe Wagner said after Saturday's win. "You can't expect great offensive games and great turnovers if you don't try to change the temperature of the game. It doesn't promise you anything. But you've got to start somewhere. To me, it was kind of like coming out of that timeout, we have to try now because if we don't try now, we're probably not going to win."
The Magic escaped for a 120-117 win, with the Jazz sitting their starters the entire fourth quarter in a seemingly blatant tanking move. The Magic found their energy to salvage the win.
If there is one thing this team must recapture more than anything else to regain its identity, it is this energy. Because when they play with energy, very little else matters.
The Magic proved that dovetailing that run to end the third quarter into a big push into the fourth quarter. Orlando tied the game with two minutes to play on a three from Suggs and then iced the game with consecutive defensive plays from Wendell Carter and Jalen Suggs to finish the game at the foul line.
Orlando had found its spark.
"I think we realized the defense is that calling card tonight to make sure that we got the easy baskets," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Saturday's game. "It had to start with our defensive effort and our energy and getting our hands on the basketball. Then executing on the break. We've got to continue to get better there, just finishing in transition when we do cause those turnovers."
Energy drives the Orlando Magic
Energy has defined the Orlando Magic's identity in four seasons under Jamahl Mosley. They were always the team that tried too hard and annoyed teams with pure effort.
Of all the things the Magic have seemingly lost this year, this is the biggest difference. The Magic have had far too many games where their energy seemed lifeless.
Orlando proved it had the energy and aggression throughout the fourth quarter of this comeback win over Utah. But most of the game seemed to have the team stuck in the mud.
"I think that we just didn't stick to our process enough," Desmond Bane said after Saturday's game. "It's going to happen at times. We talked about when things do start to go awry, we need to double down and have a feel for the flow of the game. That's kind of where we lost control of it in the second quarter."
Orlando often settled for three-pointers, shooting 5 for 20 from deep and 15-for-21 shooting from the line -- with 16 of those attempts coming in the third quarter -- in the middle two quarters as Utah built its lead.
The Jazz were winning all of these hustle points and areas, scoring with relative ease as the Magic seemed to give up timely rebounds and timely buckets that halted momentum.
As has seemingly been the case throughout this frustrating season, the Magic let their misses dictate their energy. They got frustrated with the officials and could not get the rope back defensively.
Not until they found their energy and turned the tide.
Seeking poise still
This has been the heart of the problems all season.
There are ups and downs in every game. There are runs teams have to navigate and respond to.
What has held the Orlando Magic back is that when they go into the hole, they go deep into the hole. When they struggle, it take severything down with them. They do not have an identity to lean back on.
Desmond Bane said the problem is the team's poise. Knowing the right shot for the right moment and not letting mistakes compound.
Getting back to attention and back on their gameplan has proven to be extremely difficult. And it has defined their season as they keep grasping for someting tha seems elusive yet completely within their control.
The scary part remains how talented the team is to be able to win despite all of these issues.
The Magic can win a game despite shooting so poorly from the field (42.4 percent) and from three (13 for 41, 31.7 percent). They can win despite getting outworked for most of the game and giving up 58 points in the paint.
When their defense turns on, as it did down the stretch in the fourth quarter, it can be devastating, forcing 24 turnovers for 39 points.
Orlando got four steals each from Anthony Black and Jalen Suggs. They tallied 15 steals in the game along with seven blocks. Their activity was real and devastating when it was turned on.
When Orlando sticks to its gameplan, plays aggressively and moves the ball (26 assists on 36 field goals), the team looks very capable.
The Magic have had a lot of success this season on talent alone. But it should also be clear that talent alone will not get them where they want to go.
The Jazz gifted the Magic the opportunity to storm back and win Saturday. If there is a silver lining, it is merely that Orlando took that opportunity and ran with it. The team still needed to change its attitude to get the win.
The Magic can see and feel what makes them successful. When they find it, they are as good as any team in the league.
But they are still fighting to make it the core part of their identity it has been for so long.