MIAMI — The Magic snapped the Heat‘s seven-game winning streak, extended their own winning streak to seven games and swept the five-game regular-season series against their in-state rival Saturday night.

But Orlando’s latest thrilling victory almost didn’t come fruition.

Jamahl Mosley‘s squad led by as many as 22 points in the first half and, for the second game in a row, took a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter.

And Miami only pushed Orlando to its limits inside Kaseya Center from there.

The Heat, who outscored the Magic by 12 points in the second half, cut the deficit to just two with 8.6 seconds left in the game. That’s when Paolo Banchero sunk a pair of free throws to secure the 121-117 win.

“We’ve been in this position a lot this year where we get into those tight games and we’ve won a lot of them,” said Banchero, who led all scorers with 27 points. “We’ve lost some of them. So, I think just as a team we’re comfortable. Obviously we’re not like too … there’s still a sense of urgency, but at this point in the season we know that we’ve just got to do what we need to do to win the game.”

To Banchero’s point, the Magic improved to 16-7 in games decided by five points or less this season.

Taking a step further, the Magic moved to 23-11 in “clutch” contests — games where the score is within five points or less with five minutes or fewer remaining in the fourth quarter or overtime, according to the league.

To be sure, Orlando would have liked to avoid Saturday’s showing at Miami from becoming its latest clutch game, but it’s just pleased it found a way to win regardless of the situation.

Orlando’s 23rd clutch win marked the second-most in the league entering Sunday, according to NBA.com.

“They started to come back (and) make some shots,” Banchero said about the East’s seventh-placed team, the Heat (38-30). “We started to stagnate a little bit but we just had to have more points than them at the end of the game.

“So, it did get a little interesting, but I think everybody was just confident that we were going to pull the game out,” he added.

The last time Orlando won seven consecutive games was Nov. 15-26, 2023, as part of a franchise-record tying nine-game winning streak.

Not only have the Magic won their past seven, but they’re also 13-4 in their past 17 contests.

“It’s a good feeling,” Wendell Carter Jr. said in the locker room. “It’s been a lot of ups and downs throughout the season (such as) injuries, and we’re still waiting on guys to come back. But it’s a good feeling, knowing the kind of work we put in each individually and then the work we put in as a collective. It’s all starting to come together at the right time. Guys are all clicking.

“I definitely think there’s still another level we can tap into, but this is definitely a good feeling to be at, seven in a row now,” he added.

Orlando has won seven in a row by relying on its newfound offensive identity from this season and by recapturing its defensive one from the past.

In the past seven games, the Magic’s offensive rating (122.4) was third-best across the league while their defensive rating (108.8) was fourth-best. Those marks led to a third-highest net rating (plus-13.5) in that stretch, according to NBA.com.

Recording 25-or-more assists in 15 of its past 17 games, Orlando has now scored 120-plus points 26 times this season, the most in team history. It’s 23-3 in those high-scoring instances.

But pulling off their next trick won’t be easy either.

The No. 5 Magic (38-28) travel to No. 8 Atlanta (36-31) on Monday for a matchup with one of the hottest teams in the league.

Winners of nine in a row, the Hawks own the highest net rating in the NBA (plus-18) during that stretch. And they’ve already beaten the Magic twice this season (first by four in the second game of the season and then again by 15 on Nov. 4).

On top of that, Orlando will still be without Anthony Black (left lateral abdominal strain), Franz Wagner (left high ankle sprain injury management) and Jonathan Isaac (left knee sprain) at Atlanta.

Jett Howard, who was a late scratch at Miami due to an illness, was listed as questionable on the team’s initial injury report.

Despite its recent success, Orlando is only focused on the task at hand when it steps onto the court inside State Farm Arena on Monday night.

“You don’t focus on streaks,” Mosley said. “You focus on the one game in front of you. And every time you focus on the thing in front of you, that’s how you get the job done. If you’re taking care of the things that you need to, and the one game at a time, that’s all that matters. You don’t look back, you don’t look forward.

“You’ve got Atlanta next. So now you’ve got to focus on that being the one game that we’re going to play.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

Up next …

Magic at Hawks

When: 7 p.m., Monday, State Farm Arena

TV: Peacock/NBC Sports Network