That’s the word Magic coach Jamahl Mosley shared with his team after Orlando took a 2-1 series lead over the top-seeded Pistons over the weekend.
Knowing the level of desperation that both sides would be playing with Monday night back inside Kia Center on NBC, Orlando knew it would need to play with even more composure than usual against a physical Detroit squad.
Behind a combined 59 points from Desmond Bane (22), Franz Wagner (19) and Paolo Banchero (18) in a low-scoring affair, the Magic played with composure down the stretch and finished on top 94-88 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over Detroit.
Teams that lead a best-of-seven series 3-1 go on to win the series 95.6% of the time (285-13).
Eighth-seeded Orlando ended the game on a 9-4 run after the game was tied at 85 with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter. Detroit failed to take care of the ball when the Magic scored 23 points off 20 takeaways.
With the Magic in the driver’s seat, the best-of-seven series shifts back to Detroit for Wednesday’s Game 5 inside Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., Prime Video).
The German forward was aggressive driving to the basket early and often, which helped settle Orlando’s offense at times, but suffered an injury in the second half.
Wagner, who previously missed 48 combined regular season contests due to a left high ankle sprain, checked out of the game with 1:34 left in the third quarter and briefly went to the locker room. After making his way back to the bench early in the fourth, Wagner was considered questionable to return due to a right calf strain.
Wagner led the team at the halfway mark with 17 points, scoring 10 points in the paint before the break. Helping defend Cunningham at times, Wagner recorded four of Orlando’s eight steals. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists.
The Magic came out firing and scored the first eight points of the contest behind 3-pointers from Wendell Carter Jr. and Bane.
Orlando’s defense caused problems early for Detroit when the Magic forced seven turnovers in the opening four minutes and jumped out to a 19-7 lead.
Things quickly changed, however, as Orlando’s defense stopped forcing turnovers and its offense came to a halt. The Pistons punched back with a 20-5 run as the Magic at one point missed 13 straight shots from the floor.
With Orlando unable to force another turnover the rest of the opening quarter, Detroit led 27-26 after the first 12 minutes of play.
After knocking down seven 3-pointers in Game 3, Bane kept it up from distance when he sunk five triples.
The Magic guard opened 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, hitting two 3-pointers in the final three minutes of the second quarter. He added his fourth 3-pointer late in the third quarter and banked in his fifth with 1:16 remaining in the game.
The performance marked his second straight with 20-plus points, something he did 42 times in the regular season.
After making their first two long-range buckets, the Magic then missed their next 12 3-pointers. Tristan da Silva (six points) snapped the cold streak with a triple at the 6:58 mark of the second quarter.
Detroit started 4-for-8 from 3 but shot 5 for 14 overall in the first half. It ended the night 6 for 30 from distance.
Shooting 6 for 22 on first-half 3s, Orlando finished 9 for 35 overall.
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com