Early in the third quarter, the Orlando Magic were down by five points to the severely undermanned Charlotte Hornets. The game was as ugly as the score and field goal percentages indicated.
That is exactly how the Hornets would need to compete. They needed the Magic to fall into their traps and get frustrated by their inability to get to the paint.
The Magic could not impose their will. Their offense sputtered and the team could not move the ball throughout the first half and especially the second quarter. The Hornets sold off walling the paint and daring the Magic to shoot from deep. The misses frustrated Orlando further.
As Paolo Banchero prepared to take a free throw, he gathered the team at the free throw circle. They huddled there for a lot longer than a normal bit of encouragement. Banchero said a few words before they had to break and prepare for the free throws.
Banchero said this is normal for the team, so it did not stand out to him. However, the length of their huddle, their situation, and the stakes of this moment made it seem out of the ordinary. Orlando had to win this game, and the team had to find its way forward.
And the only way they were going to do it was together. If the Magic were going to win and get out of this rut, it had to take everyone being on the same page.
This was yet another test. Banchero had to be among the leaders focusing the team's attention in a 102-86 win.
"It was emphasizing getting stops on the other end and on defense," Banchero said after Wednesday's win. "That's going to lead to us making shots. If we are letting the other team play freely on offense and score. Then that takes away from our confidence as well. Just emphasizing guarding and getting stops."
Overcoming the frustration
That has often been what has derailed the Orlando Magic's effort. They let the frustration of missed shots—5-for-21 from three in the first half—bleed over to the defense. And while the Hornets were not making their share of shots, the defense lapsed enough to let them stay in the game and lead by two at halftime.
Orlando needed to put aside all of those frustrations, all of the inconsistency and all of the baggage of the last six weeks. They needed to win this game. They needed to find a way.
The Magic closed the quarter on a 24-10 kick, outscoring the Hornets 33-19 in the quarter. Paolo Banchero scored 12 of his 24 points to lead the way.
Orlando was not going to the All-Star Break with this kind of a loss to stew. The team got the win it so desperately needed.
The Magic did what they must do to get out of this month-long rut and climb back into the Playoff race. They did it together.
"It's really important. It's those little things that can get you out of a tough stretch of a game," Franz Wagner said after Wednesday's win. "It's also just good to check on your teammates within a game. That goes a long way I think."
That is not how it always is for the Magic.
Shooting leads the way out
The Orlando Magic's offense can often devolve into isolation plays as Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner try to find their way into the paint. Frustration has been written on everyone's face throughout the season so far.
Charlotte, like most teams at this point, are loading up on them. The Hornets put as many players between them and the basket as the team can, often throwing three players at them when they make their move.
The only way to solve these defenses is to trust teammates to make shots.
The Magic certainly took their share of 3-pointers, finishing with 43 attempts and making 14 (32.6 percent). Orlando had to make threes to break through. But the team needed to trust those threes to fall.
They finally did in that third quarter.
The Magic made five of 12 threes in the third quarter to gain some breathing room. They needed that to create energy and get the defense to loosen up. That opened Paolo Banchero to score 12 of his 24 points in the third quarter. He made four of his nine 3-pointers overall.
That along with the team's defense gave the Magic some much-needed breathing room in the third quarter.
"Our ability to continue to step in with confidence and knock the shots down, keep moving the ball, keep sharing the ball and trusting your process and the work you put in, that's how the game opened up a little bit," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Wednesday's game. "I thought that was why there was growth for our group. They didn't allow it to impact them. Understanding the stops led to easy runouts and easy baskets. And as you see a couple go through the hoop in transition, you start to step into your shots with confidence."
That is the reality for the Magic though. Their only way to solve the issues that have plagued them throughout this season is nothing complex.
It is about sticking together and trusting the shots will go in. It is about not getting discouraged by offensive frustrations and staying locked in on defense. They needed to stick together and trust each other.
That is what Orlando was struggling to do in the second quarter of Wednesday's games. That is what the Magic have struggled with for some time. They let mistakes compound and frustration over the offense boil into the defense.
That Orlando Magic gave up only 86 points, the first game the team has held an opponent to less than 100 points in 16 games when the Magic defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in mid-January. Orlando has struggled to get its defense back to form.
The closing kick ahead
This was at least a step back in that direction. And that they hope means momentum for after the All-Star Break.
"The way the ball was popping today, the way we played defense, all of those things, our state of mind was good," said Anthony Black, who scored 18 points in the win. "We were intentional. It was just good momentum going into the break. I think we'll come back charged up and then we'll start our incline in the second half."
The Orlando Magic have 26 games left to make the most of their season. They know that it will be a challenge. They know health will help them get right.
The only way they can accomplish their goals is to trust each other. They must trust their defense and trust the shots will fall.
That is all they can do. The only way out of this rut and back on track right now is together.