The Orlando Magic trailed the New Orleans Pelicans 107-98 with 9:04 to play in the fourth quarter.
They had a choice while facing this deficit. They were either going to keep playing the way they were playing and let another chance to win squander away, leaving only more questions about the team's effort and consistency, or they were going to make a stand and scratch out another win.
They were going to take control of the game and let their talent take over. They were going to be aggressive, assertive and confident, something that has been missing from fourth quarters lately.
It would be frustrating, but it would be a win. They all count the same and it is something to build on.
But the Magic could not just be the same team they were for most of the previous three quarters and come out with a win. They needed to find a spike of energy. They needed to lean on their best players to get them through. They needed to step up.
That is their only way out, and it has become an all-too-common refrain lately. Orlando, a team that seemingly had boundless energy the last few years is suddenly coming up short.
Whether they needed the challenge or things just clicked, the Magic at least found the resolve to close the game and run away with a 128-118 win. The Magic's three best players stepped up and led the way.
They answered the challenge.
Orlando closed the game on a 30-11 kick in those final nine minutes, leaning on Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane and Anthony Black for 28 of those 30 points -- a Goga Bitadze tip in was the only shot not scored by the "Killer B's"during that run.
The top three players took it on themselves to push the Magic into the lead and bring the energy the team needed on defense. Bitadze and Banchero provided some timely blocks in the fourth quarter. And the points kept flowing.
It was a win. The defense found stability and, at long last, the Magic romped to a fourth-quarter win.
The Magic proved throughout the game that if the team moved quickly and was aggressive, it could dominate on both sides. The question still remains: Why does it take so long to find it?
It starts with the "Killer B's"
The Orlando Magic have been dealing with a bout of inconsistency. It has often felt like they have been searching for confidence and ways to get that confidence to build on itself. They needed to get that ball rolling down the hill. The team has been cautious and playing not to lose far too often lately.
For most teams, they depend on their team leaders and their best players to carry them through. They have to step to the plate.
Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane and Anthony Black all had their ups and downs throughout the game. Banchero and Black each had four turnovers and Bane had three turnovers in the game. Some sloppy play in the third quarter especially put the Magic in a deep hole. The team had no life, they were just keeping up offensively.
It had to be these three to bring the Magic back.
The trio had 28 of the team's 37 points and 28 of the team's final 30 points to close the game.
Whether it was Desmond Bane forcing a tough layup in to give the Magic the lead back or attacking the rim, or whether it was Banchero powering his way to the basket or getting a pass from Black for the and-1 that gave the Magic the lead for good, or whether it was Black draining an open three, the Magic's top three players found some life.
And the energy on defense followed from it.
"I think the execution offensively, but the focus defensively," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Sunday's game. "Giving up 39 in the third is not who we are. To turn it around, string stops and hold them to 20 in the fourth quarter. That's got to be our identity."
Orlando tightened up its defense. Confidence came from the team getting some shots to fall, and then it became a snowball. Suddenly, the defense that was so lifeless before had juice. Orlando gave up only 20 points in the quarter, and nothing could derail them.
The Magic looked the way they were supposed to. And that was more than enough to erase the deficit, derail the Pelicans' suddenly hot offense.
This is how the Magic are supposed to look. It was good to see it again.
Finding the normal
It was refreshing to see the Orlando Magic play this way. It was exciting to see the team put those elements together to win a game rather than needing to hang on and find it.
Jamahl Mosley understands and returns to the refrain that it is a game of runs and who wins depends on when those runs come and how long they last. The Magic made their run at the right moment.
But the team is still wildly inconsistent at basic things.
The hope would be that they can turn this into regular momentum now. That this can be something that moves to the next game and gets the team out of this alternating-wins rut.
Then again, that was the hope because the Magic have always done so well to respond to losses during this run. They looked like they were about to do so, going up 21-9 in the first quarter. But the New Orleans Pelicans tied the game by the end of the first quarter, and the Orlando Magic could not recreate that energy.
The Pelicans just kept scoring -- shooting an uncharacteristic 14 for 26 from three as the worst 3-point shooting team in the league this season. The Magic struggled to keep them out of the paint and struggled to corral them.
It was the inconsistency the Magic have experienced for much of the last month.
Moe Wagner's return helped with some of the energy in his limited time -- only 10 minutes with eight points and two rebounds. But the Magic needed their top players to lead the way.
They have provided solid scoring, but this was all three taking over the game. That was exactly what the Magic needed.
It is what they will need to break this streak.