The Magic are thriving. Can they keep playing this well?

PHILADELPHIA — The feeling among the Orlando Magic over the past 10 days is that the team has begun to figure things out after its disappointing start to the season.

Tuesday night offered yet another indication of the Magic’s progress — progress made without injured forward Paolo Banchero, the franchise’s most recognizable star.

The Magic routed the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers, 144-103, in a game highlighted by Anthony Black’s career-high 31 points, Jalen Suggs’ career-high 11 assists, and Suggs’ second-quarter ejection for escalating an altercation that started with a tense faceoff between teammate Wendell Carter Jr. and the Sixers’ Andre Drummond.

This was Orlando at its best: generating defensive stops then pushing the ball upcourt, controlling its defensive glass and, continuing a shocking trend, converting at least 38 percent of its 3-point attempts for the fourth consecutive game.

That Philadelphia played without Joel Embiid, Paul George, VJ Edgecombe and Kelly Oubre Jr. should take some of the luster off Orlando’s win but not all of it. The Magic started a season of enormous expectations with a 1-4 record. Since then, they’ve won 10 of their last 14 games, with a pair of quality wins over the New York Knicks, a narrow overtime road loss to the Houston Rockets and a convincing victory over the Golden State Warriors.

“I think we’re figuring out our identity,” forward Franz Wagner said.

What has changed? Their frenetic early-season pace has slowed, with players understanding more clearly when to push the ball and when to take shots early in the shot clock.

The 3-point shooting, which for years had been a glaring weakness, now looks above average when certain lineups play.

Guard Desmond Bane, the marquee offseason addition, appears more self-assured on offense, with a better sense of his teammates’ tendencies and his teammates having a better feel for him.

“We’re just unselfish,” Bane said. “I think that we’re playing for the next man. Guys are making shots. Guys are playing with a lot of confidence. It’s free; it’s fun. But it’s all being fueled by our defense, getting stops, and being able to get out and run is helping everything.”

And the defense — which still has uncharacteristic problems in the half court, forcing fewer turnovers at a lower rate than it is accustomed to — looks a bit more like the elite group of the prior two seasons.

“Yeah, we started the year off rough,” Carter said. “In those losses, we weren’t playing to our standard on the defensive end. We’ve reestablished our defensive identity, and the offense is clicking right now.”

“Clicking” is an understatement.

The Magic finished last season with the league’s 27th-ranked offense, scoring 108.9 points per 100 possessions. This season, they rank seventh in offensive efficiency, averaging 117.9 points per 100 possessions.

They ended last season last in 3-point shooting percentage, making 31.8 percent of their attempts from deep. Now they rank 19th, having made 35.6 percent of their long-range attempts.

“I think we’re doing a great job,” Suggs said. “At the beginning of the year, there was so much focus on it. I think it was needed, and the lumps and hurdles were needed. I think as we got back to playing great defense, getting out and running and rewarding our defense now by playing great offense, I think it’s something that’s been a leap for all of us.”

Franz Wagner scored 21 points in Orlando’s win Tuesday night at Philadelphia. (Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)

Carter and second-year forward Tristan da Silva have made the biggest jumps with their 3-point shooting, with percentages in the low- to mid-40s. But Wagner has made the most crucial strides. He ended last season with his shot in disarray, with a noticeable hitch when he hoisted 3s above the break. But his shooting motion looks smoother, and his confidence has started to return. His percentage has jumped from 29.5 percent last season to 35.7 percent this season.

With Banchero still recovering from a groin strain he suffered two weeks ago, coach Jamahl Mosley has employed a starting five of Suggs, Bane, da Silva, Wagner and Carter when everyone is available to play. Bane has been a spacing upgrade over predecessor Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and da Silva is a more reliable 3-point shooter than Banchero.

Da Silva’s emergence stabilized the offense in Banchero’s absence, and the most pressing question revolves around whether Orlando can maintain its offensive flow when Banchero returns.

In some ways, it sounds outlandish that Banchero, as talented and as adept at drawing fouls as he is, might make the offense less efficient. Still, it’s a valid question. Banchero and Wagner are at their best as creators, with the ball in their hands. Right now, Banchero’s absence allows others, especially Bane, to receive more touches and generate better rhythm, which is central to accurate shooting.

Although the Magic have slowed their pace after their 1-4 start, they are still playing faster than last season. From Nov. 14 through Nov. 22 — games played without Banchero — they took 21.2 percent of their shots early in the shot clock, ranging from 22 to 18 seconds, according to NBA Stats’ tracking data. Last season, they attempted only 13.1 percent of their shots early in the shot clock.

Suggs, Black, da Silva and Wagner excel at a fast pace. For Banchero, however, playing fast is not his strength.

Mosley and Magic players said they don’t anticipate any problems, in part because Banchero has watched the offense’s recent evolution closely.

“He’s been the No. 1 guy talking about how we’ve been defending, how we’ve been getting out and running,” Mosley said. “And that allows him to get easier baskets just the same. So I think as we continue to defend the right way, we continue to get stops, (we’ll be) able to get out and run to get easy baskets for everyone.”

Suggs said the team can continue “to play the same way” once Banchero returns.

“Paolo’s a great dude,” Suggs said. “He’s a great person. He’s a very smart basketball player. He has every tangible tool to do anything he wants on the court. Obviously, he’s been with us every road trip, every game, every practice. So he’ll be fine. He’ll come back into the fold and jell well with us because that’s our brother. Regardless of how we’ve been playing while he’s been off, we want him on the court. And we’re better when he’s on the court.”

When the playoffs arrive, the game slows down and it will be more difficult for Orlando to push the ball upcourt. That’s when Banchero excels, as a go-to guy who routinely hits difficult shots. Banchero was dominant in his two NBA playoff series, averaging 28.0 points per game combined on nearly 45 percent shooting against the Cleveland Cavaliers’ and Boston Celtics’ elite defenses.

The postseason remains far away, though. The Magic are only 19 games into their regular season, with 63 more to go.

Tuesday night, inside the visitors’ postgame locker room, Bane was asked how close the Magic are to fulfilling their potential on offense.

“Not close at all,” Bane answered.

If he’s correct, that ought to frighten the rest of the Eastern Conference.

A difficult test looms Friday, with a critical NBA Cup group-stage road game against the Detroit Pistons, winners of 13 consecutive games.

“Friday’s a really good chance, in a big game, for us to keep working on everything, just staying the course,” Wagner said. “It’s going to be a long season. There’s going to be more ups and downs. We’ve got to have that same mentality that we’ve had the last couple of weeks.”