Orlando Magic Blog

Group Blog talking about the NBA 2009 Eastern Conference Champions. Due to the amazing success of the 2009 playoff run comments are now frequently deleted to kill offensive comments, incoherence, or asininity. Comments can no longer be anonymous and require either a Blogger or OpenID account.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Game review: Grizzlies (24-19) 99, Magic (29-16) 94


Memphis extended their home winning streak at 11 games, as they overcame a 16 point second quarter deficit to the Magic and held the Magic to just 15 fourth quarter points. All five Grizzlies' starters scored in double figures, led by Zach Randolph's 23 points, 19 rebounds. Dwight Howard led the Magic with 27 points, 15 rebounds, 6 blocks.

The game was close throughout the first quarter, as the Magic led going into the second quarter 23-22. The Magic went on a 21-6 run to start the second on their way to their largest lead of the game at 44-28. It didn't last long, though, as the Grizzlies went on a 24-6 run to take back the lead going into halftime at 52-50, thanks to Randolph's 60+ foot heave that went in at the halftime buzzer. The Magic were able to come back in the third quarter, and led by as much as 70-63, before the Grizzlies cut their deficit to 79-77 going into the fourth. The Magic's shooting slumped badly in the final quarter, as they made just 2 of their final 15 shots. The Magic's largest fourth quarter lead was 84-77 with just over ten minutes remaining. Their last lead was 94-92 with 1:51 remaining, as the Grizzlies scored the final 7 points of the game. The Magic missed their final 5 shots and committed a turnover.

Magic leading scorers

Dwight Howard: 27 points (9 of 14 FGs, 9 of 11 FTs), 15 rebounds, 6 blocks, 4 turnovers
Rashard Lewis: 19 points (6 of 16 FGs, 4 of 8 3 PT FGs), 5 rebounds
Vince Carter: 15 points (6 of 15 FGs, 1 of 6 3 PT FGs)
Jameer Nelson: 11 points (4 of 8 FGs), 6 turnovers
J.J. Redick (bench): 11 points (4 of 6 FGs, 3 of 4 3 PT FGs)

Overall Game Statistics

FG%: MEM 46.3% (38 of 82) ORL 42.3% (33 of 78)
3 PT FG%: MEM 50% (6 of 12) ORL 37.1% (13 of 35)
FT%: ORL 83.3% (15 of 18) MEM 65.4% (17 of 26)
REB: MEM 45 (14 offensive) ORL 37 (13 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 21/19 MEM 18/20
BENCH: ORL 22 MEM 8

Other game notes and stats:

-In addition to Randolph, the Grizzlies' O.J. Mayo had 20 points; Marc Gasol 19 points, 8 rebounds; Rudy Gay 15 points; Mike Conley 14 points, 7 assists
-Four of the Grizzlies' starters played 40 or more minutes
-The Grizzlies' starters outscored the Magic starters 91-72
-The Magic's Matt Barnes went scoreless on 0 for 3 shooting, but did have 5 rebounds
-Jason Williams led the Magic with 4 assists off the bench; 5 other Magic players had 3 assists
-Redick and Williams scored 19 of the 22 bench points for the Magic, as Redick scored all 11 of his points in the first half and had to leave the game in the fourth quarter after a laceration to his head
-Mickael Pietrus, Ryan Anderson, and Marcin Gortat combined to shoot 1 of 9 for 3 points
-The Magic missed 10 of their last 11 3 point attempts
-The Magic now trail Atlanta by 1 1/2 games in the SE, and also lost a game in the conference standings to Boston and Cleveland

Here is the complete recap and box score from nba.com.

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 1:12 AM  

2 Comments:

  • At 5:15 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    The only 2 positives to come out of this game was the performance of Dwight Howard and also J.J. Redick's performance off the bench.

    Very disappointing the Magic did not look for Dwight more in the fourth quarter. He took only one shot attempt in the final 10 minutes. He was 3 of 4 from the FT line during that span.

    The Magic settled for too many long jumpers in the fourth; out of their final 13 misses, 8 were three pointers and 4 were jumpers.

    I don't understand why they didn't look for Howard more late in the game; he did so well for three quarters offensively in addition to his dominant defensive performance the whole game.

    1 assist to 6 turnovers is unacceptable from Jameer Nelson.

    Vince Carter was the only starter not to turn over the ball.

    Give the Grizzlies credit; all their starters played well, and they did not panic after falling behind 16 points in the first half. Their home record is one of the better ones in the league, and they are a playoff-caliber team.

    Let's hope the Magic will be ready for Boston on Thursday.

     

  • At 11:11 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    We keep giving credit to the opposing teams, but what does that leave us with? We are not an elite team; plain and simple. Something needs to change. I can only point to two elements which I have mentioned before; 1) Vince's inconsistency is killing us. He needs to be rested until he is fully heeled; and 2) MP is regressing badly and somebody needs to talk to him.

     

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