News / Sports
NBA Scores: Dwight Howard Leads Orlando Magic Past the Grizzlies
Dwight Howard scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Hedo Turkoglu and Grant Hill each scored 15 as the Orlando Magic (35-41) blew out the Memphis Grizzlies (19-59) 116-89 to stay a game ahead of the Indiana Pacers for the eight spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Orlando jumped all over the Grizzlies in the first quarter, racing to a 25-3 lead as Memphis missed their first eight shots and didn’t earn their first field until there was 4:13 remaining in the period. Howard scored 11 in the opening frame while Hill added nine and the Magic took a 35-14 advantage into the second quarter.
The Grizzlies started the second quarter on an 11-2 run to cut their deficit to 12 but the Magic answered with a 7-0 capped by a J.J. Redick three-pointer to bump the lead back to 44-25 with 6:35 remaining in the half. Memphis could never find an answer to Howard as the Magic’s big man scored another 10 over the final six minutes of the quarter and Orlando went into the break with a 61-44 lead.
Memphis cut the lead to 11 in the early stages of the third quarter but Orlando put together a 14-2 run that knocked the Grizzlies out of the game. By the end of the quarter Orlando’s lead had mushroomed to 95-63 and the Magic turned the game over to their bench.
There was no miraculous comeback in the fourth for the Grizzlies as they could never get any closer than 110-86. The loss was the fifth in a row for Memphis and all but guaranteed they would finish the season with the worst record in the NBA.
