As recently as March 14 after a four-point win over the Heat inside Kaseya Center, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley and forward Paolo Banchero had pointed towards how Orlando‘s numerous late-game wins this season would help them down the stretch of the regular season and into the NBA playoffs.

“I think just as a team we’re comfortable,” Banchero said at the time.

Added Mosley that night: “Understanding that we’ve been in this situation before, so now what do we need to do? That was the mentality of our guys.”

But when the Magic found themselves in yet another clutch game against the Lakers on Saturday — contests 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 — they failed to lean on what they learned in similar past spots.

First, there was confusion on whether or not Orlando meant to call timeout after Los Angeles center Deandre Ayton missed a free throw with 5.2 seconds left in the game.

Then, Magic guard Jalen Suggs failed to successfully inbounds the ball to Banchero, thus giving it back to the Lakers, who trailed by two points.

Finally, Orlando had two defensive breakdowns that helped Los Angeles win the game. Suggs and Tristan da Silva mixed up who was supposed to switch defensively and that let LeBron James drive to the basket. Banchero momentarily saved the night with a block, but possession remained with Los Angeles.

And after the block, a second defensive breakdown allowed Luke Kennard to slip freely to the 3-point line where he sunk the game-winning triple, lifting the Lakers past Orlando, 105-104, to their ninth win in a row at Kia Center.

“We just didn’t execute,” Magic guard Desmond Bane told the Orlando Sentinel in the locker room after the one-point loss. “Didn’t execute the inbound play. Didn’t execute on defense. … We’ve just got to be better.”

Suggs explained in the locker room what happened during the inbounds turnover, which was challenged by Orlando but stuck the Lakers’ way after review.

“As a point guard, the one taking it out, I got to either call a timeout or get the ball inbounds,” he told reporters. “So, it’s tough to turn it over there. Then just two slip outs that they had to create good looks for them off the inbounds. It’s just being precise at the end of game with our cuts, with our getting open and then with our switching.

“That’s our loss, for sure,” he added.

The Magic still hold a 23-13 record in clutch games, but the Lakers have been even better in those situations this season. Los Angeles not only improved to 22-6 in clutch contests but also maintained their league-leading plus-27.8 net rating in those games.

Orlando’s net rating in clutch games (minus-0.6) ranked 16th league-wide entering Sunday’s slate, according to NBA.com.

“Not all of them are going to go your way,” Bane said. “I mean, we just … didn’t get it done.”

And it wasn’t just the final few possessions where the Magic didn’t execute.

After trailing by seven points at the end of a first quarter that saw the Lakers score 37 points, Orlando (38-32) led by three points at the half, by five points entering the fourth quarter and again by five points with 50 seconds remaining in the game.

Los Angeles (46-25) outscored Orlando 23-17 in the fourth quarter when neither shot the ball well from distance (Lakers 2 for 11, Magic 0 for 6 in the final frame).

“It comes down to those last plays, yes, but before that, there’s a lot of things we can have cleaned up much better, them having 14 offensive rebounds is a start there, 52 points in the paint, 19 fast break points,” Mosley said. “Those are big keys that we can clean up down the stretch, but it does come down to those last plays. But prior to that, we can be better.”

The snow pile of mistakes resulted in the Magic dropping their fourth consecutive game.

The skid represents Orlando’s third such losing streak of at least four games this season.

It also moved the Magic from sixth in the East — above the mark for a top 6 guaranteed spots in the playoffs — down to eighth (meaning if the season ended Saturday night, they’d not only be in the Play-In Tournament but also traveling for a game).

Seeds 7-10 in each conference compete in the Play-In for the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds in the playoffs.

“Figure out how to win,” Wendell Carter Jr. said when asked how Orlando ends its latest losing streak. “I mean, it’s simple words but that’s all it is. That’s all it’s about right now.

“It’s a tough one, game-winner, but we move on,” he added. “We learn from it. … Not just even on the last play but just throughout the game, what all could have been done better. But at the end of the day, what is it, 12 (games) now left? We’ve got to just make the most out of every single game moving forward.”

Their next chance to win comes Monday on the first night of a back-to-back against the Pacers (15-56), a team on an even longer losing streak. Indiana, which only has 15 wins on the season, has lost its past 16. Orlando travels to Cleveland the next night.

The Magic needed late-game heroics to take down the Pacers twice already this season (first in a two-point win Dec. 31 at Indiana, then again in an eight-point win four days later in Orlando).

“Focus on Indiana,” Bane said about what’s next. “Just get the next one.”

Added Suggs: “Just gotta gather and get a win. That’s it. … We’ve just gotta end the skid. I think we’ll do that Monday.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

Up next …

Magic vs. Pacers

When: 7 p.m., Monday, Kia Center

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida