Last season with the Grizzlies, new Magic guard Desmond Bane witnessed firsthand just how heavy dramatic losses can feel for an NBA team deep in a regular season.

From Feb. 28-March 3 almost a year ago, Memphis loss three games in a row — each by fewer than two points and by a combined five at home.

Although Bane’s former team, which later traded him to Orlando over the summer, was able to finish 48-34 and reach the playoffs (where it made a first-round exit to the eventual champion Oklahoma City), he referred to that stretch as a crucial turning point for the squad roughly 60 games into the season.

Now with the Magic, Bane wasn’t going to allow something similar happen to his new team in Game No. 56 of this season.

Less than 24 hours after Jamahl Mosley‘s squad fell by three points in double overtime at Phoenix, Bane posted 36 points and made the go-ahead layup to help lift Orlando past the Clippers, 111-109, inside Intuit Dome on Sunday night.

“I think it’s huge,” said Bane when asked about the team’s ability to bounce back on the second night of a road back-to-back. “(Saturday) night was emotional. Double overtime game, lose at the buzzer. I was telling some of the guys, I remember last year in Memphis we lost three games in a row like that and it kind of felt like that was the back-breaker of our season, just because it was so emotional and you’re right there but you come out with a loss.

“So, I’m really proud of our group,” he added. “I thought we did it the way we wanted to do it, too, imposing our will, sitting down and guarding. So, it was good to see.”

Sunday’s game was Bane’s second consecutive contest with 30-plus points, his third in the past four and ninth of the season.

Orlando improved to 7-2 in those instances when he became just the 10th player in franchise history to score at least 30 points in at least nine games in a single season.

And he did it in more ways than one by shooting 4-for-6 from 3-point range, 7-for-10 in the paint, 2-for-3 in the mid-range and 6-for-10 at the free-throw line, while adding five rebounds, two steals and an assists in 32 minutes.

“He reminds me of a lot of older guys in this league,” Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (15 points, 14 rebounds) said about Bane. “Guys who have established themselves and have a mindset of, he’s going to play his game no matter what. His process is going to remain the same. Early on (in the season), he was struggling a little bit but one thing about it, he stuck to what he knows he’s good at.

“And now we’re seeing the benefits of what trading for a guy like that does,” Carter added. “His continued elevation just shows he’s one of the best in this league in terms of his position, shooting the 3-ball, getting downhill, facilitating, playmaking … He’s exactly what we need.”

And the Magic needed each and every point from Bane to escape a Clippers team that nearly won the game at the buzzer.

Unlike Saturday’s game at Phoenix when Jalen Green sunk a buzzer-beating game-winning 3-pointer against Orlando, however, Los Angeles guard Bennedict Mathurin missed a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired.

The Magic improved to 9-3 in games decided by three points or less. Entering Monday’s slate of games, the nine wins in such contests were tied for most in the NBA.

After falling to 1-7 playing in the first game of back-to-backs, Orlando moved to 6-2 playing in the second game of back-to-backs.

“We’ve got a lot to learn,” Mosley said about his team. “You talk about giving up 22 offensive rebounds (Saturday) night, (Sunday night) they had nine. (Our) ability to finish the possessions out, that’s the difference in the game.

“Obviously, Mathurin had a shot at the end similar to (Sunday) night, so our ability to continue to grow and learn from that is going to be key,” he added. “We’ll sit down and watch these end-of-game scenarios because we’re going to be in a lot of these, and our guys, we’ve got to keep learning how we continue to improve in these scenarios.”

The Magic (30-26) played their second game in a row without Jalen Suggs (back spasms) and Franz Wagner (left high ankle sprain injury management), but still found a way to win a game that kept them half-a-game back of No. 6 Philadelphia (31-26) and just ahead of No. 8 Miami (31-27) entering Monday.

Orlando wraps up its four-game trip out west against the Lakers (34-22) on Tuesday night. Los Angeles, which fell to Boston by 22 points at home on Sunday, is 2-3 in its past five games but 16-11 inside Crypto.com Arena.

Both Bane and Mosley hold a positive outlook of where the Magic are heading with 26 games remaining in the regular season after splitting a challenging back-to-back on the road.

“We’re trending in the right direction, we’re playing better basketball, playing together (and) playing physical, getting back to a little bit of our defensive identity,” Bane said. “Soon, J-Suggs will be back in the fold, (and) we’ll be able to get (Franz) back in the fold. So, I like the way that we’re trending.”

Added Mosley: “This is a building block for our guys.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

Up next …

Magic at Lakers

When: 10:30 p.m., Tuesday, Crypto.com Arena

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida