Though having just seven players dressed, the Orlando Magic put to test the theory of grit and grind on Friday (Feb. 22) at FedExForum. They led early and even were close late, but when faced with just five active players they finally succumbed to a game Memphis Grizzles squad, 88-82 – the second game in a row with the same deciding score.
“You’ve got to give Orlando credit,” said Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins. “We did enough to win – it wasn’t pretty. It’s hard for them to believe that this team had a chance to beat us. They fought right from the start, and all the way to the end.”
The Grizzlies started sluggish from the outset. Letting Orlando knock down open shots from the perimeter, dictate pace, and even holding a lead from the tip through pretty much the whole first half. But Grizzlies center Marc Gasol made sure the Grizz wouldn’t have a letdown. He scored 10 of his 19 points in the first half to give Memphis a slim 43-38 lead going into intermission.
“We just have to play better basketball,” Gasol said. “We knew we had them in trouble inside, and we took advantage of it. We need to win and we’re going to take this one of course.”
The Grizz had a nice margin between them and the Magic, but once Gasol and Zach Randolph were resting, Orlando went to work. A late rally led by former St. John’s star Maurice Harkless and guard Arron Afflalo, a standout for UCLA in his own right, cut a 14-point deficit to five down the stretch in the fourth quarter. Harkless finished with 19 points and nine rebounds.
“We had one jump shot that could’ve cut it to three,” Afflalo said. “I will never enjoy losing period but I do enjoy growing.”
Afflalo led all scorers with 20 points and dished out seven assists for the depleted Magic who were without other stars such as Glen Davis, Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson – all out due to injuries and suspension.
Memphis started settling for jump shots instead of sticking to their inside game.
“At first we made some and got the lead, but then we stopped making them and they started coming back while our bigs were on the bench,” Hollins said. “So I decided to go back with the bigs to go back inside and get an advantage again,” Hollins said. “We were able to attack, but we were giving up too much on the defensive end down the stretch – which consistently hurt us.”
The decision to go back with the strength of the Grizzlies proved to be a great idea by Hollins. As usual, Randolph lived up to his All-Star status and carried the team the rest of the way. He finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds – another double-double, and helped put away Orlando with tough inside play. The Magic would soon have two players foul out thereafter, leaving them with no one to sub in off the bench for the players on the court.
“Yeah, they had seven players, but we won,” Randolph said. “It wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it. It was one of them games, but we came out with the victory – you’ve got to take your hat off to them because they played hard. Every team’s goal is to beat me up, so I’m used to it. We couldn’t get it going tonight, but I rebounded good to get my teammates second chances and good looks at shots. It was a good team win and we’ll get ready to win the next one.”
Four Grizzlies scored in double figures against the Magic. Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley and reserve forward Ed Davis, whom coach Hollins feels is a wild card, also joined the party. Conley finished with 14 points. Davis, adding 10 points to the win knows his role on the team and Hollins is pleased with what he brings to the table.
“I like the fact that he’s very athletic and can block shots,” Hollins said. “I’d like for him to rebound and block shots in the pick-and-roll and just make somebody guard you and get an offensive rebound.”
“I’m familiar with what coach is trying to do now and trying to bring energy and keep the tempo up, Davis said. “I’m here to do what coach wants me to do – bring athleticism and rebounding to the floor.”
The Grizzlies know that this was a test to who they really are in terms of identity and chemistry. So the upcoming games on the road and the schedule in March will be a barometer for seeding in the playoffs.
“That’s how the whole month is going to be, Gasol said. “We don’t have that many games left and we really need every single one. Its that time of the year where you need to figure out who you need to be for April and May.”
“We just gotta worry about us, that’s basically what it comes down to,” said Grizzlies guard Tony Allen. “Every game is a test. We can’t be worried about how many players the other team has or who we’re playing. As long as we execute and worry about what we need to do.”
