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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| MAGIC | 23 | 27 | 29 | 15 | 94 |
| GRIZZLIES | 22 | 30 | 25 | 22 | 99 |
Recap:
MEMPHIS (AP) -- Zach Randolph had 23 points and 19 rebounds, O.J. Mayo added 20 points and the Memphis Grizzlies won their 11th straight home game, 99-94 over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.
Marc Gasol added 19 points, and Rudy Gay had 15 for Memphis. Mike Conley finished with 14 points and seven assists for the Grizzlies, who snapped the Magics three-game winning streak.
With the victory, the Grizzlies matched their 24 wins from last season.
Dwight Howard led Orlando with 27 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks, while Rashard Lewis scored 19 points. Vince Carter had 15, while Jameer Nelson and J.J. Redick had 11 apiece.
The teams were tied at 94 on Randolphs tip-in with 1:34 left. Gay then tied up Nelson on the ensuing Magic possession, and won the jump ball, leading to his reverse layup for a 96-94 lead with just under a minute left.
Gasol's layup and free throw with 21.4 left extended the lead to 99-94, ensuring the Grizzlies would extend their franchise-record home winning streak.
The physical game led to both teams shooting under 47 percent - Memphis 46 percent, the Magic 42 percent. Orlando had 19 turnovers, Memphis 18.
Memphis closed the half with a 24-6 rally and took a 52-50 lead at intermission thanks to Randolphs shot from 63 feet at the buzzer. Randolph grabbed a rebound on Carters miss from 13 feet, dribbled to the middle of the floor and heaved a high-arching attempt from the top of the key on Orlandos end and swished the shot.
The shot stood after an officials review.
Defensively, the Magic pushed the Grizzlies in the post. Lewis was denying the interior pass to Randolph in the post, and Howard was banging with Gasol in the middle.
Memphis matched the intensity after Orlando built its biggest lead, 44-28, starting a rally that ended with Randolphs shot.
The physical play continued in the second half, but no one ever led by as many as Orlando did in the first half.
Orlando was ahead 79-77 after three periods.
NOTES: Grizzlies C Hamed Haddadi was on the active roster to help Memphis defend Howard. Coach Lionel Hollins said he wanted to have all of the post players he could in case Howards play put the Grizzlies in foul trouble. Howard, who leads the league in blocks at 2.52 a game, almost reached his average on one Memphis possession. He swatted DeMarre Carrolls attempt at the rim, then got Sam Youngs drive at the basket. The two blocks eventually led to a shot clock violation. Howard recorded his 33rd double-double, including six straight. Redick left the game with 7:15 left after hitting his head and causing a laceration on a play under the Grizzlies basket. The Grizzlies 11 consecutive home wins equals the longest streak in the NBA this season. The Lakers and Cavaliers also won 11 straight at home earlier in the season. Gasol had three steals in the first quarter, tying his career-high. He ended with a career-best four.
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GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
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Preview:
(STATS) -- The Orlando Magic broke out of their road funk by snapping the league's second-longest home winning streak their last time out.
To win back-to-back road contests for the first time since early December, they'll have to end an even more impressive run.
The Memphis Grizzlies look to extend their franchise-record home winning streak to 11 on Monday night when they face the Magic, who will try for their fourth straight victory.
Orlando (29-15) had dropped nine of 11 away from Amway Arena heading into Saturday's game in Charlotte, where the Bobcats were 18-4 and had won nine straight.
Charlotte overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime, but the Magic's defense took over and Jameer Nelson outscored the Bobcats 6-3 in the extra period to secure a 106-95 win.
"That's the best five minutes of defense we've played all year," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "... I would have rather closed it out in the fourth quarter and finished better than we did. But in retrospect, now after the game, that was a great game for us to have."
Orlando has not won consecutive contests away from home since an eight-game road win streak from Nov. 10-Dec. 8. Earning that elusive victory Monday night could be quite a challenge.
Memphis (23-19) shot 39.2 percent against Oklahoma City on Friday, but Rudy Gay's jumper with 1.3 seconds left - the last of his 25 points - gave the Grizzlies an 86-84 win, their 10th straight at FedEx Forum.
"It was just a great opportunity for us to get another win at home,'' guard O.J. Mayo said.
Memphis, one win from tying its victory total of last season, improved to 13-2 at home when Gay scores at least 17 points.
The Magic won't have to think too hard to remember another clutch shot from Gay. He hit an 18-footer at the buzzer when Orlando visited Oct. 31, 2008, giving him a game-high 29 points and Memphis an 86-84 victory.
Gay averaged 24.8 points in his last four games against the Magic.
Dwight Howard had 14 points and 14 rebounds in that game, but turned the ball over five times and battled foul trouble against Marc Gasol, who chipped in 10 points in what was the first home game of his rookie season.
Howard may have his hands even more full Monday. Gasol has upped his scoring average from 11.9 last season to 14.8 while shooting 60.4 percent - second-best in the league and slightly ahead of Howard's 59.8.
Gasol has been even better at home, scoring 15.9 points per game and shooting 63.5 percent.
The biggest difference from last season's 24-win team to this season's playoff contender, however, has been Zach Randolph. The Grizzlies' leading scorer at 20.9 points per game, Randolph has averaged 25.8 points and 14.4 rebounds during the 10-game home streak, and Memphis is 19-6 when he scores 20 or more.
Randolph averaged 21.4 points but shot 41.7 percent in his last seven games against the Magic while playing for Portland, New York and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Orlando's big offseason addition hasn't panned out nearly as well. Vince Carter had averaged 7.5 points and shot 25.0 percent over his last eight contests before scoring 21 against Charlotte.
He averaged 26.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists in his last six games against Memphis while with New Jersey.
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Game Notes:
Jan. 25 @ Memphis: Orlando is 15-11 all-time vs. Memphis (9-4 at home, 2-6 at Memphis, 4-1 at Vancouver) during regular season action…The teams split 1-1 last season…Orlando has won three of the last five, but lost 10 of the last 14 meetings overall…Prior to that, the Magic had recorded nine straight victories against the Grizzles…Jason Williams played four seasons for the Grizzlies from 2001-05…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Memphis, see p. 262 of the media guide.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. GRIZZLIES: 37 pts., Anfernee Hardaway (@ Orlando, 11-22-95)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 32 pts., Rudy Gay (@ Orlando, 12-15-07)
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