The Magic ended their three game at-home losing streak before a sellout crowd by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 89 to 72 at the Amway Center. The Grizzlies never had the lead, although some strong play by Gasol in the third quarter closed the gap to five, only to see the Magic start rolling again to end the game with a seventeen point lead.
Early in the game both teams simply couldn’t seem to keep the handle on the ball. By the end of the first half Memphis had suffered 13 turnovers and Orlando 14, resulting in 9 points for Orlando and 7 points for Memphis.
The second half however showed remarkable differences in ball handling with only one turnover each by the end of the third, and a total of 15 for Memphis and 19 for Orlando.
Vince Carter was hot, producing 19 points on eight shots , making three of four of his three pointers. Dwight Howard was his usual solid self posting a double double.
Both teams were strong in the paint with 34 points for Memphis and 38 for Orlando.
Memphis looked, on two occasions, as if they would start seeing the light but the 16 point deficit from the first quarter was just too much for them to overcome.
Lee Clymer
