DALLAS — Devonte’ Graham wasn’t sure what his eyes were seeing and got even more puzzled at the message his coach was trying to deliver.

“Man, caught me off guard,” Graham said. “He came in talking about the song. I had no idea what he was talking about at first. But it was definitely funny and confusing at the same time.”

Recalling the magical moment, PJ Washington laughed, busting out a devilish smirk as he thought about the scene on the Hornets’ bench.

A 20-point lead, which was their largest of the season, evaporated like a droplet of water on a typical Texas summer afternoon and Dallas was riding an emotional wave, gesturing toward the crowd with each big bucket. The Hornets were trailing by half a dozen points, a numbing situation given how they had more than held their own against one of the better teams in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.

That’s when things took a serious left turn.

As the American Airlines Center sound system blasted Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” and the sellout crowd was practically frothing at the mouth with excitement, Hornets coach James Borrego propped himself down on a chair and began his own acapella version of the classic Journey tune.

“He just came to the huddle and just started asking everybody did we know this song and he started singing it,” Washington said. “We were like, ‘We’re down like six with two minutes left.’ So it was definitely funny. But we definitely kind of eased the mood and went in there and kept fighting.”

Borrego’s audible apparently cut through the tension the Hornets were experiencing in Saturday night’s matchup with the Mavericks. In overcoming that six-point deficit late in overtime and pulling out a gutty 123-120 victory, the Hornets learned a few valuable things.

Beginning with their coach’s unique ability to get the best out of them on nights like these, when he has to do something like recite a few lyrics while fans in the arena are in full throat.

“I think it kind of threw us off guard, ” Terry Rozier said. “But I’m pretty sure it was to lift us up. We were down at the time, we called a timeout. I think he felt our heads were down so it was definitely a laugh that we all needed. It was crazy. I’ve never seen that before. It was funny.”

Graham said: “I definitely think it kind of loosed us up a little bit. They were going on a little run and he came in the huddle and said that. Some guys kind of laughed about it, some guys were confused. But it definitely took a little bit of the tension out of the air.”

Given how the Hornets coughed up their largest advantage of the season as well as a 13-point halftime bulge — and fell behind by a dozen points — Borrego figured he had to do something. On a night that featured 10 lead changes and five ties, he needed his young team to dig deep.

The guts and guile displayed in crunch time is something Borrego enjoyed, understanding these kinds of circumstances are the ones that can aid in spurring on their development.

“I think that is the resilient part,” Borrego said. “The fact that we can get down, get up and still respond. I give our group a lot of credit. To get up double digits early, play with poise, play with urgency, play with force, and then to lose that lead, how did we respond? And that’s all we talked about in the timeout. How are we going to respond? Let’s go respond and show our resilience and that’s what our group did.”

Chalk it up as the latest educational moment for a team featuring a young core gaining experience. In a season that’s not really about wins and losses for the Hornets, it’s tangible knowledge. It provides them with something to grasp onto, giving them a how-to guide they can reference in the future.

That’s why there was a sense of ‘belief’ permeating throughout the locker room, all thanks to character they displayed in a place the franchise had won just eight times in 29 visits. Now it’s key to use this valuable teaching moment and do their best to remember the things they learned in securing their best victory of the season.

“I think just execution,” Graham said. “We can play with some of the best teams in the league when we are all locked in and focused (and) we are a good team.”

At least they are when their coach belts out a little Journey anyway.

“I love the song,” Borrego said, “so I think we’ll be playing it at our next practice.”

(Photo: Jerome Miron / USA Today Sports)