ORLANDO, Fla. — Less than 24 hours after their season ended with a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Orlando Magic players were back at the AdventHealth Training Center in Orlando on Monday, taking stock of the season and their first visit to the playoffs as a group before getting away for the summer.

The Magic players met with management, coaches and the media for their season-ending exit interviews to reflect on what was a more successful season than predicted — but one that had a bittersweet ending. Orlando jumped to an 18-point lead in the first half on Sunday in Game 7 with a chance to advance to the second round but gave up that lead in the second half and lost to a much more experienced Cleveland team 106-94.

To a man, they said they were proud of the way the team met so many of their goals, including making the playoffs, having a top 5 defense and playing a team-based offense. They expressed optimism about how much they learned and how it will help them next season.

“This was a good season,” fourth-year guard Cole Anthony said. “Have to build on it.”

The playoffs left them eager to do so next season.

“Getting a taste of the playoffs and a full seven-game series, it makes you want more,” All-Star forward Paolo Banchero said.

He got a lot out of the seven-game playoff series with the Cavs.

“The Game 7s come down to if you put forward your best effort — as a team, as a player," Banchero said. "...It was a great experience for everybody.  I’m sure everybody learned and will be better from it. Definitely want to experience it again and be on the other end and win next time.”

The players said they learned how important having home-court advantage is in the playoffs after the home team won every game in their series with the Cavaliers.

Coming up just a game short will help them focus on those games in December and in early January to work even harder to get wins because they will remember this playoff series and how it might have turned out differently if they’d had Game 7 at home, Banchero said.

The Magic didn’t take any games for granted in the regular season, Anthony explained, but the Game 7 loss will give them added motivation to sharpen their focus and execution every game.

Forward Franz Wagner shot just 1-for-15 in the Magic’s Game 7 loss and was still frustrated as the team gathered for its final meeting of the season.

Wagner said he thought the Magic had a chance to win one of the four road games they played in the series, but “it’s definitely a lot harder to withstand those (opponents’ scoring) runs on the road.”

Game 7 “is going to stick with me all summer,” Wagner said. “Hopefully, I can use it as motivation and fuel in the right way.”

Wagner’s older brother and teammate, Moe, had a broader perspective.

“Good things take time,” Moe said. “I think this is a great step. I’m a big believer in you don’t have to lose in order to learn, but unfortunately, that seems to be part of it.”

Forward Joe Ingles, at 36 the oldest and most experienced member of the team, said, “As hard as it is to lose, there’s so many positives over the next couple months that the guys will take away from it. Franz is going to think about that game (Game 7) for a long time. I guarantee next year, he’s going to come out and be a ton better, and he was already super impressive this year. Guys will go away now and individually figure out, this is the time to figure out how they can get better and then after the front office does what it does, bring it all together.”

How they do that also is important, said guard Jalen Suggs, who had his best season so far. Suggs, who played in a career-high 75 games and was one one of the team's defensive leaders while also scoring 12.6 points per game, said the work it took to win so many more games and to compete in the playoffs taught he and his teammates how different it is to play on a team that is competing for playoff position and trying to win there.

“It’s no longer just about individual growth,” Suggs said. “We want to get better as a team. We all learned a lot, and we’ll continue to apply those things.”

Shooting guard Gary Harris, who before coming to Orlando in a trade was part of the Denver Nuggets as they built to a perennial playoff team, said the Magic players’ goal now should be to make it the norm to perform at least as well as they did this season.

“The sky is the limit for this team,” Harris said. “Just got to continue to grow and keep learning…They’ve (young players) grown at an exponential rate, and I feel like they're only going to continue to grow, especially this offseason….Guys want it, and I don’t think anyone is satisfied.”

Coach Jamahl Mosley said he was most proud of the growth of the group this season.

“Our young guys learned how to win in this league….Last night (Sunday) stings probably more because that group knew exactly what they were capable of,” Mosley said. “….Never getting too high. Never getting too low. Being able to win the games that we won when people didn’t expect it. But that group in that locker room, they did, and that’s the sting of this moment.”

He reiterated what he’s said throughout the season, that the team is a special group, tied together and pulling for one another no matter the circumstances.

“That’s the power and the beauty of this group,” Mosley said.

Banchero agreed.

“This group really has no ceiling,” Banchero said. “We have an ultimate belief in each other and what we can do. It took us this far this year. But I think another summer of everyone working and improving, everybody having the hunger and motivation, we can take it even further. This is just the very start of something special.”