Memphis Grizzlies lose three in a row as Orlando Magic breeze past them 89-72
For the last two seasons the Orlando Magic have prided themselves to be the best defensive team in the league but their performance in the last two games has been anything but impressive.
After choking against the Toronto Raptors the Orlando Magic just managed to outsmart the New Jersey Nets by a single point down the stretch, by far their worst performances at the Amway center in recent times.
On Monday night though, Magic shored up their defense as they restricted the Memphis Grizzlies to their lowest total this season.
Dwight Howard scored 18 points and 14 rebounds while Vince Carter had 19 points as the Magic cruised to 89-72 win in front of an 18,846 home crowd.
Orlando asserted their dominance right from the beginning as they sprinted to a 8-0 advantage within the first four minutes of the match. The Grizzlies tried to rally back but struggled to keep pace with the robust Orlando offense as they took a 20-12 lead
into the second quarter.
The first period highlighted a very rash display of basketball from both the teams. It was as slapdash as it gets featuring poor passes, missed balls and over dribbling. In short both the teams were determined to explore all the ways to cause a turnover
as they ended the first quarter with 10 each.
Orlando though managed to maintain some sanity and continued to outscore the Grizzlies as they took a 47-34 lead into the second half.
The Memphis Grizzlies hit the ground running in the second half as they reeled off a 12-4 run, capped by a Mike Conley jump shot to come within striking distance at 46-51.
Magic bounced back immediately. Vince Carter nailed a triple pointer and Quentin Richardson followed it with a jumper as Orlando started to pull away.
The teams entered the fourth quarter with Orlando maintaining the half time advantage. Jameer Nelson slipped in a 3-pointer and Dwight Howard followed it with a running hook shot as the Magic raced to a 79-62 advantage, their biggest of the match.
By now, the match had been effectively won by Orlando as their lead was never challenged by an off colour Memphis offense and the proceedings finished with an 89-72 result.
Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 14 points and 8 boards while Mike Conley and O.J.Mayo were the only other Memphis players in double figures with 11 points apiece.
Rudy g*y, who has been scoring at an average of more than 18 points this season, was restricted to 9 points as Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat clogged the middle forcing the Grizzlies on the flanks from where they desperately failed to score.
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