When RJ Barrett hit a tough fadeaway jumper over Jonathan Isaac to close the third quarter, he flexed in front of the Toronto Raptors bench. His team had just gone on a 19-6 run to close the third quarter, breaking an 80-80 tie to lead by 13 after the third quarter.
The Orlando Magic seemed to be back in their place. Their inconsistency on offense and lack of detail on defense, catching up to them against a confident and spunky Raptors team that knows who they are.
The Magic need wins right now. They could not afford to live with the second unit, which lost a close game, any longer. Jamahl Mosley went to another trick in his bag.
He played the group that he trusts most to try and get a much-needed victory against a key Eastern Conference opponent.
Orlando's starting lineup did not merely get the team back into the game. They completely flipped the game, leading to the Magic's 130-120 victory.
"I just thought tonight was really huge," Jalen Suggs told reporters in the locker room after Friday's game. "You never want to lose at home. It really was a mindset to come out through fatigue and through mistakes to come out and play hard and leave it all out there."
Orlando outscored Toronto 44-21 in the fourth quarter, completing a stunning turnaround for the team's second straight win.
Suddenly, the team had its identity and swagger back. They were back to their process on both ends.
Leaning on the starters
The Orlando Magic's reassuring cry for a long time has seemed like a plea to wait for this team to be healthy again. They know they have workable lineups and groups that are unavailable due to injury.
Their opening night starting lineup has played only 117 minutes and 11 games together, but hold a +18.0 net rating. That is proof in a small sample that this Magic team has a lot in reserve and still has the chance to be a dominant team.
Even the lineup the Magic are currently using entered the game with a +2.7 net rating (114.9 offensive rating/112.2 defensive rating) in 97 minutes and eight games together. The team has not been able to see many of its key combinations together for very long.
Coach Jamahl Mosley has definitely been searching for the right rotations and lineups.
In Friday's game, the starting group opened with a 13-4 lead and led 14-9 when Mosley first broke the lineup. In all, the Magic's starting group scored 72 points in 46 possessions (a 156.5 offensive rating) and gave up 45 points in 44 possessions (a 102.3 defensive rating).
Mosley knew his team needed this win. After seeing the team fall behind late in the third quarter, the Magic needed to lean on their starters heavily to have a chance to win.
This is what the team had discussed for so long.
"Just doing what was needed to get the win," Wendell Carter said after Friday's game. "It has kind of been the topic of just getting back in the winning column. I just went into this game, no matter if I was scoring points, getting rebounds, blocking shots, I was just setting good screens for others. I just told myself, coming into this game, I'm going to do whatever is needed to get this win tonight."
The Magic have needed to feel that sacrifice and the selflessness. Mosley's by-committee approach can feel a bit cliche, but it truly takes everyone doing their part.
That is the only way a team can come back the way the Magic did.
Orlando tied the game within five minutes of the quarter. The Magic were up 10 on an Anthony Black runout dunk with 3:03 to play and never looked back, only briefly letting the lead dip under 10 points in the final minute.
Desmond Bane scored 16 of his 32 points, including four of his seven 3-point makes, in the fourth quarter. Black had 13 of his 25 points, including making all eight of his free throws in the fourth quarter. Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter each had six as the Magic shot 13 for 16 from the floor (81.2 percent), 6 for 9 from three and 12 for 14 from the foul line.
Everyone touched the ball.
"I think everyone did a good job being aggressive," Black told reporters in the locker room after Frida's game. "I think we did a good job letting people go when they got hot. I just think we did a good job moving the ball. And on the back end, everyone was super aggressive when they had it."
The Raptors, shellshocked by the offensive onslaught made only 5 of 17 shots in the period. The Magic stifled them completely on that end.
Statement made?
The Orlando Magic are desperate for wins right now.
The team is coming off a four-game losing streak, snapped Wednesday against the Miami Heat. Orlando has essentially exchanged wins and losses since Franz Wagner's injury in early December - they are 11-12 since then.
Orlando has struggled to build consistency in the meantime. Is this their moment?
"We've been talking about building and continuing to build, especially heading into the All-Star break," Desmond Bane said after Friday's game. "We've had good carryover, even dating back to some of those games. We started having real dialogue before the overseas trip, just being intentional about what we want on both ends of the floor. We have been putting that into action."
The Magic have not often felt or looked like themselves.
Seeing the team hounding on defense and forcing turnovers -- five in the fourth quarter alone -- and using that to spark the offense, and seeing the team moving the ball quickly to find the open man was simply refreshing.
This was a reminder of who this team can be.
"I think it just continues to say what we're capable of doing," Jamahl Mosley said after Friday's win. "It's those things when you understand exactly how good you can be in these moments, what you have to do. We can sit and watch this and learn from it. What were the things that allowed us to be successful here? That was sharing the basketball, playing with intention, and getting back in transition to keep them from easy baskets."
Momentum is always the next day's pitcher. The Magic still have a big hill to climb to be the team they want to be.
But suddenly there is this surge of confidence. The pall that cast over this team for the last few weeks is lifted. The team feels looser and freer, not simply moving in the right direction but producing the results that come with it.
Time will tell if this is a turning point moment. The Magic had to make a stand and get a win when nobody expected. They needed to will themselves to victory.