Grizzlies 94, Magic 85
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- What's the antidote when you have lost four of your last five home games? The Orlando Magic come to town.
The Memphis Grizzlies (10-10) shook off their home slump Monday night at the FedExForum with a 94-85 win over the Magic as power forward Zach Randolph scored 19 points with 12 rebounds and forward Jon Leuer contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Orlando (6-15) lost its sixth straight and its road record dropped to 1-10.
All five Orlando starters scored in double figures, led by forward Andrew Nicholson and guard Jameer Nelson, who had 19 points each; Nicholson also had 11 rebounds. Magic forward Arron Afflalo scored 17, center Glen Davis had 16, and guard Victor Oladipo finished with 10.
For Orlando, this was the fifth game of a six-game trip and the second night of a back-to-back. The Magic fell 14 points behind at the 8:48 mark of the second quarter when rookie Grizzlies guard Jamaal Franklin (career-high eight points) hit the first 3-pointer of his career.
The Magic were going uphill the entire second half, but cut the lead to four when Davis made a put-back layup with 2:07 left in the game. A driving layup by Randolph at 1:14 put Memphis up 90-83 and the Magic never could get the lead down to one possession.
The Grizzlies had a 52-35 rebounding edge. Normally one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA, Memphis shot 58.8 percent (10 of 17) behind the arc. Franklin made his second trey just before the third-quarter buzzer to give the Grizzlies a 73-60 lead going into the fourth.
Memphis led by as many as 23 in the first half and took a 51-30 lead into the break. The Grizzlies only shot 42 percent, but got up 50 shots and hit 21 of them. The Grizzlies had a 31-15 rebounding edge and shut the Magic out 13-0 on second-chance points. Orlando also failed to get a single offensive rebound. The Magic shot 33.3 percent (12 of 36). Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley had a game-high 12 first-half points and finished with 13.
NOTES: All indications are that Memphis G/F Quincy Pondexter is done for the season due to a stress fracture in his right foot. Pondexter met with reporters before Monday night's game and said a decision on surgery was not made yet. "I have to be smart about this," he said. "I'm still a young guy, only 25, and I have a lot of basketball ahead of me." Pondexter was averaging 6.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists. ... Orlando made at least one 3-point field goal in 513 straight games. The streak dates back to March 17, 2007. The Magic hit 10 or more 3-pointers five times this season. ... Coming into play Monday, the Magic were one of four NBA teams with just one road win. The Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz were the others. ... Memphis PF Zach Randolph recorded a double-double in nine of his past 13 games.
