MAGIC: GAMETIME: 04/07/07 vs. Memphis

GAMETIME: Orlando Magic 116, Memphis Grizzlies 89

April 7, 2007 - Amway Arena

	1	2	3	4	F
GRIZZLIES	14	30	19	26	89
MAGIC	35	26	34	21	116

GAME INFO

Tipoff: 7:00 PM ET
TV: WRBW MY65 | Radio: WDBO AM 580 | Spanish Radio: AM 1030 WONQ
Theme Night: Latin Night
Giveaways: Middleton Rally Towel (first 5,000 fans), Kaboom Kazoos (first 5,000 fans)

By Matthew Gardner | OrlandoMagic.com

FOURTH QUARTER
Magic not letting the Grizz have any breaks as Ariza opens the final quarter with a two to extend the lead to 34. The starters are all on the bench for Orlando. Currently, Dooling, Milicic, Ariza, Redick and yes, Pat Garrity are in the lineup. Memphis has cut the lead to 28 with 8:52 left. Maybe if we had four more quarters they could get back into this game. No, probably not. They wouldn't have any eligible players with their current foul situation.

Garrity showing up aggressive foul, drawing the foul and heading to the line. By the way, don't you think Garrity should have chose the number 13 - that way we could all call him PG-13? Here's a rare sighting for you...Keith Bogans has checked into the game. Does he still play for us? Just kidding! K-Bo hasn't seen court time since early March. Arroyo knocks down a jumper, exciting all of his faithful fans. It's Latin Night here at Amway Arena and many of these fans have come tonight just to see Arroyo play. Carlos has one dedicated following and it's been that way since the first time he showed up in Orlando wearing a Magic uniform. Redick then nails his second three of the evening to put the lead back to 30 and we've still got six minutes to play.

There's not much left to say in this edition of the Baseline Blog other than Orlando really needed this win. Visits to Milwaukee, Detroit and Philadelphia now await the team this week. These will be some crucial games with New Jersey and Indiana so close to the Magic in the standings. Let's hope for a big week from your Orlando Magic.

Dwight Howard finishes the game with 31 points, just a point away from tying his career high. Hill and Turkoglu each add 15, while Ariza scores 14.

Final: Orlando Magic 116, Memphis Grizzlies 89

THIRD QUARTER
A 6-0 run pulls Memphis within 11 to start the third quarter, but Orlando quickly rebuilds the lead thanks in large part to some strong play from Howard and Hill. Howard has 24 points to along with nine rebounds, while Hill has 15. Magic lead is back to 23 with 6:47 remaining in the third.

Orlando now has its largest lead of the game at 25 points. Memphis looked like a comeback may be in the cards, but it hasn't happened. Especially now that Gasol has already picked up his fifth foul with 5:07 remaining in the third quarter. And with only eight players on the court tonight, this one may go even more into Magic favor before the night is over. Rudy Gay is not with the team tonight due to a sprained right ankle, while former Magic favorite Mike Miller is also watching from home thanks to patella tendinitis. The only player that is suited up that hasn't seen action is Lawrence Roberts. Timeout on the floor with 4:05 remaining. It's an 82-57 Orlando lead.

Howard with yet another dunk-foul combo. He'll go to the line with 28 points - four off his career-high. He hits the free throw - the second time tonight he's banked it off the glass. Perhaps a new style for D12? Hey, if it works (and he remembers to call it), I'm all for it. Ariza is fouled and he goes to the line and hits both. He then puts back a Redick miss and he's got 12 off the bench. Magic lead is now at 30, 91-61 in the final minute. Alexander Johnson fouls Howard and he's now fouled out with No. 6. Memphis may run out of players. Johnson is out and Gasol has five fouls. That means they are now down to seven players!

End of Third Quarter: Orlando Magic 95, Memphis Grizzlies 63

SECOND QUARTER
The Grizzlies begin the second quarter on a positive note with a three-pointer from Chucky Atkins, following an offensive board. Stromile Swift then hits 1-of-2 free throws and Atkins makes a layup as Memphis has cut Orlando's lead to 15. Orlando calls timeout to try and stop this early second quarter slide.

Darko Milicic dunks one down coming out of the timeout. But Atkins hits a three and Memphis has the lead down to 12 with 9:33 on the clock. Ariza hits a pair of free throws from the line and Orlando's lead is back to 14, 39-25. After their really slow start, the Grizzlies are still shooting only 26 percent for the game.

After a 20-second timeout, Hill nails down a jumper. J.J. Redick checks into the game and quickly buries his first three-point attempt of the night. Then his former Duke teammate Dahntay Jones adds a long two for Memphis. But Dwight gets loose inside for yet another Magic dunk. How many is that already? Magic lead 46-29 with 5:43 remaining until halftime.

J.J. puts up anothe three and this one doesn't fall. The goods news is that Howard was waiting under the rim and dunked back the miss. Orlando is maintaining an 18-point lead. Turkoglu, who had a career high 37 points in Orlando's last game, made a move to the basket and then put up a floater which caught nothing but net. Atkins hits 1-of-2 free throws and then Howard dunks in a sweet one-handed alley-oop pass from Turkoglu - his alley-oop partner in the San Antonio game. Magic lead, 54-37, with 2:42 remaining in the first half.

Atkins hits a three following a timeout, but Dooling gets free along the baseline and lays it in for Orlando. Jones then works the ball inside against Turkoglu and his layup effort is good. But Howard gets a feed inside from Redick and his hook shot falls for the Magic. An incredible rebounding effort by Ariza puts a Howard miss back in Orlando's hands. But Redick comes up short on his three. Gasol then hits a turnaround in the lane to cut the lead to 15 in the final minute. And with 3.0 seconds left, Hill goes baseline and throws one down. Who knew the old guy still has hops like that? Wow!

Halftime: Orlando Magic 61, Memphis Grizzlies 44

FIRST QUARTER
Magic get the opening tip and Tony Battie misses the first shot of the game. However, Dwight Howard is their for the offensive board. He has his first offering blocked by Pau Gasol, but gets it back and dunks it down for a 2-0 Magic lead. It's hard to believe as much as Orlando has struggled during this second half of the season that they are still 17 games better than the 19-58 Grizzlies. Hedo Turkoglu knocks down a three-pointer and Orlando's lead is 5-0.

Memphis has opened with a miss and a shot-clock violation. Grant Hill fouls Hakim Warrick on a jumper and he heads to the line. The former Syracuse standout misses his first free throw attempt, along with the second and the Grizz remain scoreless. Hill takes his first shot of the game and the 16-footer falls. Memphis calls timeout as Orlando has struck an early 7-0 advantage.

The Grizz finally get on the board as Gasol gets to the line and hits a pair of free throws. Howard dunks down the Magic's next possession, while also drawing the foul. Orlando off and running and it's already a 19-3 Magic lead. Memphis has only attempted five shots and are yet to hit one from the field. All three points have come from free throws. And I must correct an earlier statement. The Grizzlies have dressed nine players for tonight's game.

Memphis is now 0-of-9 from the field as Orlando's lead is 21-3. This one is getting really, really ugly. Hill's latest layup makes a 23-3 Orlando lead with 4:51 left. It couldn't get any more lopsided. Trevor Ariza just picked off a Memphis pass and runs down the floor for a reverse layup. The Grizzlies finally get their first bucket of the night as Alexander Johnson hits a layup and draws a foul. The rookie and former Florida State product also hits the free throw and look out, Memphis is on a 3-0 run. Hold the presses! The run has quickly ended. Howard makes a bucket and picks up the foul. He misses the free throw, but Orlando leads, 27-6. Ariza then picks off another pass and is fouled as he makes his way to the rim. He hits both from the charity stripe and it's a 23-point lead for the home team.

This is a terrible, terrible start for Memphis. Are these the real Memphis Grizzlies? The Memphis Tigers? Memphis Middle School "B" team? All I know is that Memphis can't be too proud of this performance. The race for Kevin Durant or Greg Oden is definitely in Memphis' favor in this game. We've got 2:44 remaining in the opening quarter and a 30-8 Magic lead.

Gasol finally gets his first field goal of the night at the 1:30 mark with a dunk, only the second Memphis bucket of the evening. Tarence Kinsey adds a basket to cut Orlando's lead to 20, 33-13. Chucky Atkins goes to the line with 5.9 seconds left and hits 1-of-2. Keyon Dooling knocks down a long two as the quarter ends. Big start for the Magic.

End of First Quarter: Orlando Magic 35, Memphis Grizzlies 14

PREGAME
The Orlando Magic enter Saturday night's game against the Memphis Grizzlies looking to gain some ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Orlando stands just one game back of the New Jersey Nets for the No. 7 spot. However, the Magic hold only a one-game lead over the Indiana Pacers for the No. 8 position. This will be the second time Orlando has faced Memphis this season. Back on Nov. 20, the Magic dropped a 95-86 decision against the Grizzlies at FedExForum.

The very injury depleted Memphis Grizzlies will only dress eight (yes, EIGHT) players for this game. The inactives will be Kyle Lowry, Damon Stoudamire and Brian Cardinal. Come game time, we'll have a better idea of the others who will not suit up for this evening's contest. Right now, it looks like they will be starting Tarence Kinsey, Hakim Warrick, Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay and Junior Harrington. And it looks like Dahntay Jones, Chucky Atkins and Stromile Swift might be the other three available players for head coach Tony Barone.

The Magic will have an entirely healthy lineup, led by starters Dwight Howard, Tony Battie, Hedo Turkoglu, Grant Hill and Jameer Nelson. The inactives tonight for Orlando are Travis Diener, Bo Outlaw and James Augustine.

MAGIC INJURY REPORT
none

TONIGHT�S OPPONENT:
Apr. 7 vs. Memphis (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 12-9 all-time vs. Memphis (7-3 at home, 1-5 at Memphis, 4-1 at Vancouver) during regular season action, including 0-1 this season�The Magic went 0-2 last season against the Grizzlies...Orlando has lost eight of the last nine meetings between the two teams�Prior to that, the Magic had recorded nine straight victories against the Grizzles�The Magic�s only win at Memphis came on Jan. 19, 2002 (119-103)�Brian Hill served as the Grizzlies head coach in Vancouver for two-plus seasons (1997-99).

Nov. 20 @ Memphis � Grizzlies 95, Magic 86: Hakim Warrick tallied 26 points and 10 rebounds, as Memphis rallied from a fourth quarter deficit and defeated Orlando, 95-86, at FedExForum. The win snapped Orlando�s four-game winning streak and the Grizzlies� eight-game losing skid. Kyle Lowry came off the bench to score 16 points for Memphis. Dwight Howard notched his second straight 20-point/20-rebound game, and his third in the last five games, recording a team-high 24 points and an NBA-season-high 23 rebounds. All five Magic starters scored in double figures. Grant Hill had 16 points, a game-high seven assists and six rebounds. Orlando led 80-73 with 5:26 remaining, but could not hold onto the advantage. Warrick scored 15 of his points during the final stanza, and the Grizzlies went on a 22-4 run to take control of the contest.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. GRIZZLIES: 37 pts., Anfernee Hardaway (@ Orlando, 11-22-95)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 28 pts., Pau Gasol (@ Orlando, 11-12-03)