Desmond Bane carries Magic offense to fifth straight win

After a slow start to the season, the Orlando Magic have had the NBA's best defense over the last five weeks. With Desmond Bane carrying the offense, the Magic have been tough to beat.

Bane scored 35 points and hit a dagger three with 18 seconds left in the Magic's 128-122 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The win moved Orlando into fifth place and Bane exemplified two big reasons the Magic's offense is cooking.

Desmond Bane had a high-scoring, turnover-free game

The Magic are 11-4 in their last 15 games and Bane is leading the team with 25.3 points per game. He's making 46.6 percent of his three-pointers in that stretch, providing the outside shooting the Magic have desperately needed.

He's also taking care of the ball. Bane didn't commit a single turnover Wednesday night and is averaging only 1.6 per game, against 4.1 assists, in the last 15 games. As a team, Orlando is committing the fewest turnovers in the NBA, and though they play at a slow pace, they're third in assist-to-turnover ratio since Feb. 3.

The combination of the Magic's stifling defense and their ability to avoid turnovers is giving them extra possessions — they're +2.3 in turnovers during their hot streak. Thanks to Bane and increased opportunities for second-year forward Tristan da Silva, they've gone from a bad three-point shooting team to an average one — a significant step up.