BOSTON -- Coach Jamahl Mosley has been preaching throughout the Orlando Magic's five-game win streak that they must respect their opponent. It does not matter who is playing -- especially when they are on a championship-level team -- the Magic had to do their jobs and put themselves in a position to win.
The Boston Celtics, even down to eight reserve players, wre not going to lay down and die. The Magic had to take the win.
That has been the struggle for most of the season. Orlando has lacked consistency and an identity all season. The team has always been susceptible to lethargic games.
Orlando was fighting Sunday for the 7-seed, and that is exactly what the team has earned. What the Magic got Sunday against the Celtics was exactly what they deserved, too.
The Magic gave up 9-for-16 shooting from three in the third quarter to fall behind by as much as 16 points. Everything started to feel hard, and the team fractured familiarly for a 113-108 loss, clinched on a tie-breaking Luka Garza three with 31.7 seconds left.
It was a bitter way to end a bitterly disappointing regular season. An effort that defied much explanation. But still felt so common for this group.
"I think it's the same things we've talked about all year," Desmond Bane said in the locker room after playing only 17:34 in an attempt to get a rest day. "We've got to look within first. There's so much more this group has to give. And we've got to do it."
The Magic exposed themselves to the chance of a close game. And they could not find answers yet again.
It would be surprising if it were not so common this season.
A common lack of urgency
The problem that has plagued the Orlando Magic all season has been a baffling lack of urgency and intensity coming from a team that has made its name on its effort for the past four years.
The Magic led by as much as 11 in the first half, but came out sluggish in the second half, giving up those nine threes and 40 points as their offense sputtered.
Orlando failed to close the door and a good defensive first half gave way to a devastating second half the team could not fully recover from.
"They saw the ball go through," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Sunday's loss. "They hit some tough, hellacious ones at the end of shot clocks. I think that was a big key. We have to continue to clean up our communication in pick and rolls. They did a hell of a job tonight with the guys on the floor. All we can do is step forward to Philadelphia and take care of business."
Even though the Magic ended their streak of bottom-tier offenses, finishing 18th in offensive rating, their offense can still be rough.
They are not a good 3-point shooting, but settled for 43 attempts, making only 12 (27.9 percent). Jalen Suggs made seven of those on a strange 7-for-15 night as his 3-point shooting was the only answer for the Celtics' pushes in the first half.
Orlando had only 42 points in the paint and 41 attempts in the paint. This was a team settling. This was a team that did not know its offensive identity and settled for jumpers.
Paolo Banchero finished with a triple-double of 23 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He was only 7 for 22 from the floor and 0 for 5 from three. He was 7 for 12 in the restricted area. The Magic were just 12 for 23.
The Celtics made everything hard on the Magic. And they could not find a way to break through.
"I definitely did not play my best basketball," Paolo Banchero said in the locker room after Sunday's loss. "I think collectively we just have to have more urgency. We can't expect to win just because guys are out. We can't expect to win just because we have a lead at halftime. You have to come out and finish the game. You have to come out and play hard. You can't just be relaxed in moments like this. I think everybody was way too relaxed and expecting it to go our way."
That has been how this season has gone. The team will often lack urgency to put their foot down, leaving the door open for weaker opponents to push them.
They have struggled to put games away, leaving winnable games on the table.
A season in search of an identity
The Orlando Magic had their chance to clinch homecourt advantage in the Play-In Tournament and an easier path to the Playoffs. They had a chance to keep the good vibes from a five-game win streak going.
Instead, they got humbled. They got humbled in a way that they have been through so many losses -- whether it was the January defeat to the Washington Wizards, the March defeat at home to the Indiana Pacers, the 52-point loss to the Toronto Raptors, the blowout losses to the Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks.
All of these losses followed the same patterns and frustrations.
They have spent their season searching for an identity. They were no longer the try-hard team. Having now finished the season 13th in defensive rating at 113.6 points allowed per 100 possessions, it is hard to call them a great defensive team.
That has been their entire season. And teams without identities and all those inconsistencies end up exactly where they are now: In the Play-In Tournament, or worse.
Orlando left Sunday's game asking itself such a familiar question.
"I think playing with a bit more energy and a bit more effort, you can always say that looking back on it," Jalen Suggs said after Sunday's loss. "We can't drop that one, and we know it. You put that on everybody."
The Orlando Magic will still get its chance in the Play-In Tournament on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers. But this is a team that has seen this script play out too much.
The Magic are right that fixing this will come internally far more than from anywhere else.