Panic was setting in for Orlando Magic Fans heading into this past Saturday night at the Kia Center as they hosted the Detroit Pistons.

They had lost five straight after managing to scrap past the Philadelphia 76ers on January 12th at home — even with franchise stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner both back in the lineup as of Thursday. However, that’s the same evening the Magic experienced what many fans call Orlando’s worst loss of the season in a 101-79 route from the Portland Trail Blazers in their house. Banchero had only eight points while the German players on the team — Wagner and Tristan da Silva — combined for 36 points.  In short, a rookie off the bench and a guy who hadn’t played in 20 games scored nearly half the points that night.

However, Saturday marked the return of point guard Jalen Suggs from his back strain. For the first time in a while, the Magic had four of their five starting playing at tip-off. Banchero, Wagner, Suggs, and veteran offseason acquisition Kentavious Caldwell-Pope took the floor while Wendell Carter Jr. was in at center for Goga Bitadze who was out for concussion protocol. With these guys on the roster again playing against a team that’s a game up on them in the standings for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, one could see why Banchero and company felt like it was a must-win.

Apparently, Wagner agreed pouring a franchise-record-tying 25 points in the fourth quarter with seven in the other three. He connected on one shot from the first 12 he took in the first 36 minutes. In that final quarter, he missed only one of his 10 shots. That late performance by Wagner applied the pressure the Magic needed to stop bleeding losses.

But all is not magical in Orlando just yet. Sitting at 24-23 with their win-loss record, the Magic travel to battle the Miami Heat in the first of a six-game road trip on Monday. From there they have five contests out west starting on Thursday featuring Portland, the Utah Jazz, the Golden State Warriors, the Sacramento Kings, and the Denver Nuggets over the next week. Time is running out for the Magic to make a move and vie for a bid to host an NBA Playoff series. This road trip could have implications heading into the end of the year.