The Orlando Magic defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 102-83 on Monday night. The Magic ended the first quarter with a 30-21 lead and were in control for the entire game.
Orlando once again shot the ball well. They were 36-of-75 in from the field (48%) and shot 11-of-29 from downtown (37.9%). Remember, Orlando did all of this without Point Guard Jameer Nelson, Shooting Guard Vince Carter and Forward Brandon Bass, who were all given the night off. The Magic shot the ball well, but the offense was far from perfect. Orlando committed 23 turnovers and you can bet Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy is not happy about that. The Magic did however play much better defense, which might have made up for their turnovers. Orlando forced 20 turnovers themselves. They also held the Grizzlies to 31-of-72 shooting from the field (43.1%) and limited them to 25% from the three-point line (4-of-16). The Grizzlies were led by rookie Sam Young’s 22 points.
The Magic surprisingly blocked just 3 shots. They were previously averaging over 11 blocks per game.
Mickael Pietrus was the star of the game for the Magic. Pietrus started again, this time at Shooting Guard. He scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting (3-of-6 from downtown). He also chipped in 5 rebounds and 4 assists. I know Pietrus said he would prefer to come off of the bench, but he may have to start unless…
Matt Barnes keeps his high level of play up. The guy brings great energy every night. He hustles on offense and is an excellent defender. Today, Barnes scored 14 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and had 3 assists. He really fills up a stat sheet.
The battle for the backup Point Guard position took another turn in favor of Jason Williams. Williams is just getting back into the swing of things after taking a year off from the NBA and really hasn’t found his shot yet. He was just 2-of-6 from the field and scored only 4 points, but he did manage to dish out a game-high 6 assists. He handled the ball pretty well, turning it over just twice. In comparison, Anthony Johnson scored just 1 point, had 2 assists and turned the ball over 4 times. It was not a good showing for the veteran. If he doesn’t do something soon, he is going to find himself as the team’s third Point Guard.
Dwight Howard was, well Dwight Howard. He only played 23 minutes, but still wound up with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Unfortunately, Dwight struggled with his shot. He was 5-for-10 from the field and just 5-for-10 from the free throw line. 50% isn’t going to cut it. It’s amazing that Howard didn’t score more since he apparently receives favorable calls from the officials according to Memphis Head Coach Lionel Hollins.
Howard’s backup, Marcin Gortat, looked like a starter again. Gortat scored 12 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in his second string role. There is not a backup Center in the league better than the Polish Machine.
Rashard Lewis didn’t have a great shooting night (3-of-8), but was 7-of-7 from the free throw line and scored 14 points.
JJ Redick continued to impress. He played solid defense and even had some success defending Memphis’ leading scorer Monday night, the much bigger Sam Young. Redick made three of his four 3-point attempts and scored 15 points. He added in 5 assists and 3 rebound. Redick should see the most minutes of his career by far in 2009-10. Everyone has been very impressed with his all-around play.
The Magic will take on the New Orleans Hornets at 8:00 PM EST tomorrow in Wichita, Kansas. The game will once again not be televised in Central Florida.
Check out a huge dunk from Dwight Howard in Monday night’s win.
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger. Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)