The moment arrived in the hours that preceded Friday's tip in New Jersey.
Jarrett Jack can't recall the exact time, but he knew it was time to put aside the lingering frustration that is as inevitable as it is unavoidable when you go from starter to reserve.
"I took the change a little personal," Jack admitted following Tuesday's practice. "I shouldn't have allowed myself to do that."
The emotions got the better of Jack, whose reputation in the NBA is as good as they come.
Whether he was in Portland or Indiana, Jack always played hard, was always one of the first to arrive at practice and one of the last to leave.
He plays tough and is mentally strong.
When Jose Calderon was hurt early in the season, Jack took over the reins at starting point guard and the Raptors started their run of success.
When they came back from an 0-4 road trip, head coach Jay Triano re-inserted Calderon and the Raptors ended a five-game losing streak with a win over Atlanta.
"I allowed what was going on with me to take away from what we as a team are trying to accomplish," Jack said. "I can't do that. To put yourself ahead of what all this team has gone through from the beginning of training camp was a little selfish."
The smile that normally follows Jack is back as is his upbeat personality when he takes to the floor.
More than any position, the point guard sets the tone.
For most of last week, Jack was un-Jack like, responding to questions with terse comments, his smile all but gone.
"He had a tough week," Antoine Wright said.
But Jack is back.
He's back to coming off the bench, but he was on the floor in the fourth in Monday's win against the Timberwolves.
He even got a rare chance to dunk during a game, a moment that wasn't lost on his teammates who broke out in laughter when Jack completed his high-wire flush.
"They weren't expecting me to dunk," Jack said. "It brought a smile from the guys and they started joking around."
