The Orlando Magic have been looking for a clarifying moment to build momentum and confidence.

Trailing for much of the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Orlando Magic still had their chance. They had the potential for this moment, erasing a six-point deficit and giving themselves the chance to take the lead with less than two minutes to play.

It was time to make a statement, indeed.

Tied at 106, Franz Wagner reached in and stole the ball from Cam Thomas and started a fast break. The defense was creating offense as the team imagined, and the team’s two 6-foot-10 forwards were on the attack.

Paolo Banchero got the ball along the right wing and rose up for an emphatic jam. One that would surely assert the Magic’s dominance even on a difficult night and deliver that win.

Then Banchero’s dunk bounced off the back iron and toward mid court. The Bucks collected the rebound. Cam Thomas fed it forward to Kyle Kuzma, who caught a backtracking Magic defense in retreat and powered his way for a layup and return to the lead.

The Magic tried to answer. They ran a play that got Franz Wagner popping out for a three. He missed the jumper. The Bucks collected it and restored their lead.

Myles Turner would hit a three and Wendell Carter would fail to answer with less than a minute remaining.

Like that the moment was gone. The Bucks regained the momentum and executed down the stretch to steal a 116-108 victory at Kia Center. All that momentum and potential disappeared in another frustrating defeat that leaves the Magic looking for the team they feel they should be.

“I thought we were solid defensively, they made some tough shots,” Paolo Banchero said in the locker room after Wednesday’s loss. “We just stalled out later in the game. It’s the NBA. It’s a skill game. You’ve got to be able to be physical, but also execute, get shots and make shots, and obviously get stops as well.

As quickly as Orlando could see all the pieces of the team’s puzzle coming together, it dissipated. The team did not get over that hump. The team was left with all the same frustrating questions.

The team still shows the massive potential to be a top team in the Eastern Conference. And then it shows how that potential is still so unrealized.

As the Magic hit the All-Star Break, the team is still searching for consistency.

An offense that works, an offense that does not

The biggest thing the Orlando Magic did this offseason to elevate their team was to acquire Desmond Bane.

He seemed like the perfect fit as a volume 3-point shooter that would fix the Magic’s biggest weakness: Their poor outside shooting.

Bane scored 31 points and made a career-high-tying eight 3-pointers on 11 attempts. He added five assists for good measure and began attacking the basket after scoring 20 points in the first half and hit six threes.

Bane set the tone for the whole ame by firing from deep and loosening the defense. The Magic followed suit with a season-high 20 3-pointers on a season-high 47 attempts. That is 42.6 percent from deep, just the 13th time shooting better than 40 percent from three.

This is the vision. Take that with the Magic’s ability to get downhill to the basket, get to the foul line and score off turnovers, and this is the missing piece.

Of course, the Magic have not been running at full tilt.

The over-reliance on three-pointers became about the Magic’s inability to get to the basket. They scored just 26 points in the paint on 13-for-29 shooting, tying a season low in points in the paint.

This is a team that lives near the basket and the Magic could not rely on that as the Bucks packed the paint.

“A lot of times, we’ve just got to finish down there,” coach Jamahl Mosley said after Wednesday’s loss. “I think they did a great job packing the paint, shrinking the floor. We made the right play for guys with kick-out shots. You’ve got to knock those down. Our ability to finish at the rim will be key as teams continue to pack the paint when they give you a lane to get downhill.”

Paolo Banchero, the team’s budding young star, scored 17 points and shot five for eight from the line, but was only 5 for 16 overall. Orlando has struggled with Banchero unable to consistently score at the rate he did last year.

And iwth Franz Wagner — five points on 1-for-7 shooting — playing for just the fourth time in 29 games, the Magic are missing the stars who put that pressure on the rim.

The Magic posted a 117.4 offensive rating, plenty good for this team. But they could not get out of their own way again.

The offense again left a lot on the table.

Lost on the margins

The Orlando Magic took control of the game early and won the past three games on the strength of their defense. That is still the identity the Magic need to get back to. And that is ultimately what will propel them where they want to go.

But as quickly as Orlando thought it had found its defense, the Milwaukee Bucks broke that spell.

The Bucks took control in the second and third quarters with 32 and 36 points respectively. Cam Thomas got going for his 34 points. Ousmane Dieng was a surprising sharpshooter with five 3-pointers himself. Milwaukee shot 48.1 percent for the game and posted a 124.7 offensive rating.

When it felt like the Magic were building momentum, free throws seemed to knock them back or they would give up an offensive rebound. It was timely errors that cost them as much as anything big. But it cost them nonetheless.

The Magic are not sweating such small things. But they always seem to add up and the Magic are playing from behind in the standings.

“I think for the most part we were pretty solid,” Jalen Suggs said after Wednesday’s loss. “Just a couple of defensive lapses. It may not be a ton, but it kind of accumulated, especially in the fourth quarter. You want to get rid of those and get those out of the game. I thought they were a factor down the stretch. I think for the most part, we were dialed in, moving the ball, the process was right. They made a lot of shots.”

Anthony Black said in the locker room after the game that the defense was not good enough and the Bucks outworked them. That has been far too common this season for a Magic team that prides itself on effort.

It was again a sign of how the Magic have all the tools to succeed but so often struggle to put them together.

A frustrating break

That has been what has defined this frustrating season.

It is so clear how good this Orlando Magic team can be. It is on full display. But this team is still struggling to get over the hump of realizing its full potential.

There is still hope as this team gets healthy again to take that elusive next step. There is still some time to right the ship.

“I think that our best basketball is definitely still in front of us,” Desmond Bane said after Wednesday’s loss. “That’s super exciting. We’re not the team that we want to be and we have a lot of room to grow.”

Entering the All-Star Break and 53 games into the season, it is hard to say when things will click, and potential will become reality. Wednesday was another missed opportunity.