The Orlando Magic did not care that the New Orleans Pelicans made a basket. They were going to run.
That has been the focus of so much of the Magic's training camp. This emphasis on pace has animated everything the team has done throughout the preseason. It is the biggest night-and-day difference between this year's team and last year's team, regardless of the stakes.
So when the Magic saw an opportunity, they took it.
They inbounded the ball off that make quickly to Franz Wagner already flying near midcourt. He got the ball and started to attack downhill, slowing down just enough to survey the defense before accelerating again past his man for a layup.
There are few things scarier in the league than Wagner coming downhill at full tilt. And the Magic seem more determined than ever to take advantage of that.
The results of this sped-up offense really speak for themselves.
After entering the game third in the league in offensive rating (for the preseason), the Magic poured in 132 points against the Pelicans, posting a 129.4 offensive rating in a 132-125 victory to finish the preseason undefeated.
This may well be a preview of the kind of devastation the Magic might leave offensively.
"We have so much potential," said Jonathan Isaac, who scored 13 points in his best offensive showing of the preseason, after Thursday's game. "We've got guys who can really play basketball. The more they get an opportunity to gel and mesh and play together, the sky is the limit. Everybody is excited. We're looking forward to a great season."
The Magic have long been a sleeping giant offensively, if they could figure out the best way to unlock their behemoth 6-foot-10 playmaking forwards. They would need better shooting and quicker decision-making to do that.
Orlando saw that on full display as the team raced out to a 38-21 lead after the first quarter and built as much as a 19-point lead. This is what feels possible for this often offensively challenged team.
Everything branches off their stars. From there? Perhaps the Magic have solved this constantly intractable problem.
The stars shine
The Orlando Magic needed to show one thing in this final preseason game: That their starting group could put the pieces together. They had played less than 16 minutes together entering the final preseason game and in just one game during the three previous games.
This group needed a lot of time together, and to show they could dominate with the space and speed they were creating. They needed their stars to step forward.
From the opening tip, the Magic were finding Franz Wagner in motion and movement. That is the biggest change to this offense, they are looking to move and play faster. And it has had some devastating effects.
Their stars have embraced this speedy identity.
"I think we're trying to push the pace and trying to take the best available shot, even if it is early," Paolo Banchero said after Thursday's game. "A little different for us, but I think it has been pretty good so far. It's just continuing to be an adjustment playing fast like that. But I think we'll be able to do it."
Wagner is the biggest beneficiary. He scored 24 points and shot 8 for 14, getting out on the break and spearheading the team's fast approach.
He was far from alone though.
Banchero had 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting, adding 10 rebounds. He attacked the basket and split the defense, looking like the All-Star he almost certainly will be this season. It was his best game of the preseason.
Banchero is someone who can slow the game down a bit more. But he is embracing the speed to as the team makes quicker decisions and the ball whips around faster, taking advantage of hte attention someone like Banchero creates.
For the first time, the Magic's two star players looked like it.
They were dialed in and forcing the defense to react to them, not merely going with the flow of a meaningless game. The Magic know their two stars will be there when needed.
They got extended minutes and an extra fourth quarter run, and even then they dominated to build the Magic back into the lead. They simply outscored the Pelicans at every turn.
The ball moves
The Orlando Magic were not boosted simply by their stars' overall brilliance. That would not be enough, as last year proved when Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner each scored at will.
The Magic added a player like Desmond Bane to grease the wheels elsewhere. The ball needs to move and find open shooters to ease the attention on the stars.
Orlando has embraced an offensive identity that gets out and runs, plays fast and shares the ball seamlessly.
"I think the effort is there," Franz Wagner said after Thursday's game. "I think we are trying to do it as much as we can. Obvioulsy it's not perfect. Probably a too many turnovers at the end. overall I think we're playing great offense."
That has been one of the standouts of the preseason too. The ball has moved.
The Magic tallied 33 assists, led by Wendell Carter and Jase Richardson's six assists. The ball was really moving around, finding the open man for their best shooting game of the preseason.
That kept everyone involved. The Magic were a constant drumbeat on offense -- except for a short stretch in the second quarter that let the Pelicans climb back into the game. That has been the case throughout the preseason.
That went into overdrive Thursday thanks to 28-for-35 shooting from the foul line and 14-for-31 shooting from three. Orlando continues to show it can attack in multiple ways. And its ball movement is key to all of that.
This is a potentially devastating offense.
"They followed the game plan there, understanding where the help was coming from and the right reads to be made," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Thursday's game. "It says a lot about our guys being able to make the right play and, on top of that, you make shots."
If this is how the new Magic offense will operate, scoring 120 points will not seem so rare -- they did it only 11 times last year and did it in all four preseason games. Orlando seems like it will be off to the races and have truly transformed their offense.
Thursday displayed the Magic's potentially devastating offensive potential. The question is whether it will carry over into the regular season.