The Orlando Magic watched their lead completely collapse. They watched the Toronto Raptors outwork them on the glass and in transition.
But this game, they had one thing they thought they could rely on. One thing they could turn to. Or at least they thought they could turn to.
Paolo Banchero is the star the Magic need. The one who can hit the tough shots and put pressure all over the defense. At long last, he looked like the star player the Magic have needed to get them through this stretch.
Only he was not quite all the way there. Despite a second triple-double this season, the Magic still came up empty in a 107-106 loss to the Raptors, ending on a missed three from Banchero at the buzzer.
Right now, Banchero is trying to find himself and find his groove again. There have been hints, rather than one big burst, of it coming together. It is coming slower than fans want.
And even in a game where Banchero played his best and dominated all facets of the game, Banchero and the Magic missed that crucial last element -- the ability to get the team across the finish line.
"I'm just looking to improve everywhere," Paolo Banchero said after Monday's loss. "I think I haven't shot the ball well this year. I haven't played as well as I would like to this year. I think a lot of it is me not going out there and having fun. Letting the other stuff take care of itself and going out there and playing for the love of the game and having fun."
The Magic led by as much as 21 points in the second quarter thanks to beautiful ball movement and aggressive attacking from Banchero. They led by 10 points with 7:40 to play when Paolo Banchero found Anthony Black for a mid-court alley-oop and his 10th assist of the game.
What happened next is still frustrating and shocking. The Magic scored just four points the rest of the game. They saw their 10-point lead collapse in less than three minutes. They could not stop the bleeding. Their star and his supporting cast could not score.
Perhaps it is a sign that one player cannot rescue this team alone.
But a healthy Banchero can still take the team a long way. The Magic hope this is a sign he has turned a corner.
Paolo returns to form
That might be the only good news from Monday's game, then. Really, for the first time since returning from his groin injury, Paolo Banchero looked like the All-Star that this team has based a lot of its assumptions on.
Banchero scored 23 points to go with 15 rebounds and 10 assists. He made 9 of 19 shots in the game and two of his four 3-pointers. He was everywhere on the floor, moving quickly and attacking with the aggressiveness the team has hoped for.
Banchero's struggles since he returned from his groin injury are well-documented. Both coach Jamahl Mosley and Paolo Banchero insisted that he was still finding his groove and rhythm.
Orlando has been waiting patiently for a breakthrough like this. They know how vital he is to their success.
"It's tough coming back from injury, coming back to a team that is playing well and trying to find his way," Anthony Black said after Monday's loss. "We're just telling him to be aggressive. Today, he had a great game. He was getting to the rim, making threes. Just a great game from him overall. We need him to keep doing that going forward."
Entering Monday, in the 10 games he had played since returning from his injury, Banchero averaged 17.5 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game and 4.8 assists per game. He shot 39.7 percent from the floor and 19.4 percent from three.
Banchero reached 20 points just four times in those 10 games. He failed to hit the mark in his last three games. He failed to shoot better than 40 percent in six of those 10 games.
To see Banchero aggressive attack the basket, take contract and finish at the rim an to finish at the rim with force with two monster dunks, was a good sign that he is coming to the other end of things. He used the attention he got to move the ball quickly. He was decisive and aggressive.
"I thought he was good being aggressive, distributing the basketball," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Monday's loss. "I think being able to do all the things to impact winning. I thought his aggression, his physicality and his voice, those things within the game were really good for us tonight."
And success seemed to build on itself as he got better through the first three quarters.
Banchero slows down
The Orlando Magic was desperate to see him take control and take over the game several times as they have lost fourth-quarter leads in the last few weeks. They need that main creator and driver to pace them.
That is what Orlando was mostly looking for in those final seven minutes when they went through their scoring drought.
After dominating the first three quarters, Banchero fell quiet, missing all four of his shots and failing to get to the foul line. During that 10-0 run the Raptors used to tie the game, Banchero missed on two pull-up jumpers.
Gone were the aggressive and quick attacks to the basket. The Magic offense as a whole started to settle, and when the team did attack, the Toronto Raptors were able to swat those shots away to spark transition and catch the Magic defense on its back foot.
His one attack to the basket in a tie game saw him spin past a defender but unable to do more than flip a wild shot toward the rim (perhaps it was a foul, perhaps not).
The offense seemed to feel like it was begging for Banchero to save them. And he could not quite reach for that yet.
It was not just on Banchero, of course. Anthony Black, who had 27 points in the game, also made several key errors, missing several shots and turning it over twice as the Raptors' pressure defense smothered the team. Orlando went 4 for 11 in the paint in the fourth quarter and struggled to finish in the paint all game long.
The Raptors pounced on these mistakes for 29 fast-break points in the game.
Maybe the end of the game was a simple case of the Magic missed makeable shots and the Raptors made their attempts.
What was clear is that Banchero is still vitally important to this team. The Magic still need him to take them over that finish line.
Perhaps, this is a sign he is getting closer but is not there yet.