The Memphis Grizzlies shoot out the lights with a 111 – 89 drubbing of the New Orleans Hornets
The Memphis Grizzlies shot 60.3 percent from the floor to hand the New Orleans Hornets a 111 – 89 defeat at the FedEx Forum in Memphis on Sunday. The Grizzlies put in another all-round performance and grabbed the win to draw even with the Hornets in the
Eastern Conference Standings.
The Grizzlies bench scored a season-high 61 points and held the Hornet’s All-Star point-guard Chris Paul scoreless to win with a second half assault. This was the first time in his career that Paul failed to post points on the scoreboard. He went 0-for-6
from the field and also missed his two free throws. He did hand out 10 assists though.
Chris Paul said, “I just couldn't make anything. There is a first time for everything. It's funny, I think two years ago when we played Memphis, I think I scored two points. I had 43, 40 and then a two-point game against them. I don't know. It is what it
is. I had some good looks tonight. They just didn't go in.'”
It was a totally different story for the Grizzlies, as they sizzled from the floor and made 13 of their 18 shots in the first quarter. They shot 60.3 percent for the game, and held the Hornets to just 41 percent to take the victory.
But that wasn’t the only advantage Memphis enjoyed. The Grizzlies out-rebounded the Hornets with a 41- 34 disparity and as expected, also bullied New Orleans in the key area by scoring 56 points-in-the-paint.
“They had close to 60 points in the paint. I think they had 30 at halftime," Hornets Coach Monty Williams said. “They got up to 70-percent shooting in the third quarter. That's embarrassing. There's no other way to put it.”
New Orleans led early in the first quarter. Emeka Okafor’s dunk at the 7:36 mark put the Hornets up 16 – 8. Memphis responded strong and evened things out going into the second quarter. Marco Belinelli was the star for the Hornets in the first period as
he poured in 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting to keep Memphis at bay.
The second quarter was closely contested as the Grizzlies held a slight 52 – 48 advantage at the halftime break.
The Grizzlies blew the game open in the second half as the Hornets struggled to find an offensive rhythm and turned the ball over 4 times in the first seven minutes and missed a handful of shots to allow Memphis to grab a 69 -56 lead .
Memphis kept stretching their lead through the rest of the game; they led 97 – 71 with 8:26 left to go in the game.
A strong showing from the Grizzlies bench allowed the Memphis coach to rest his starters for the majority of the game.
“To get to sit for a good period of time feels great. My legs feel great.'' Grizzlies’ Mike Conley said.
This was the Grizzlies’ sixth win in seven games.
O.J. Mayo top-scored for the Grizzlies with 18 points and Greivis Vasquez added 13 points, while Marc Gasol chipped in with 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
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