VANISHING ACT
Opposition disappears as Memphis goes to bench to dominate struggling Orlando.
ORLANDO, Fla. — When the Grizzlies can comfortably feed an opponent a diet of dominance that includes more than 10 uninterrupted minutes of little-used, end-of-the bench players, then the game has traveled beyond lopsided.
The contest became laughable, especially when an official called Griz rookie Tony Wroten for a traveling violation after he received an inbounds pass and walked to simply allow the final 2.1 seconds to expire.
Memphis led by 32 points just three minutes earlier.
The Griz manufactured such a huge advantage in part because center Marc Gasol enjoyed racking up assists so much that he kept going back for more as if he were pouncing on a ride at Disney World. Gasol ended up with a career-high 11 assists and the Grizzlies dispatched the Orlando Magic with great ease Sunday evening, leaving Amway Center with a 108-82 victory before an announced crowd of 16,020.
“We’ve been playing good basketball,” Griz veteran forward Tayshaun Prince said after the team’s ninth win in the last 10 outings.
Prince’s 14 points led six Griz players in double-digit scoring.
Zach Randolph’s absence due to a left ankle sprain quickly became a mere footnote. The Griz jumped out to a 10-point lead after the opening period and their lead swelled to 60-35 by halftime. The young, inexperienced Magic never seriously threatened.
More importantly, the Griz sent an early message as they began a stretch of five straight games against opponents with sub-. 500 records.
“It’s going to be a tough month,” Gasol said. “Every game, we’ve got to take care of business.”
There was no doubting the Grizzlies’ focus after losing a close game Friday night at Miami. Their 31 assists on 44 field goals led to 53-percent shooting for the game.
Not only did the Magic struggle to function against the Grizzlies’ oppressive defense, but Orlando scrambled all game trying to keep up with Memphis’ impressive ball movement on offense.
“Our pace is what made the difference,” Griz point guard Mike Conley said. “Defensively, we played like we normally do. Offensively, we moved the ball and got into our offense quicker.”
Memphis has a track record of beating losing teams consistently, especially on the road this season. It’s not often when the Griz can rest their starters like they did against the Magic.
The Grizzlies’ bench ac- counted for 49 points.
“It was a good win for us,” said Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins. “We had a game plan and stuck with it. The team did a good job of moving the ball and taking a good shot. We rarely took a bad shot. We just played fluid and played together.
TURNING POINT
Memphis was leading 40-29
with 5:26 left in the second period. The Griz closed the quarter on a 20-7 run fueled by their defense that forced the Magic into six straight misses and a turnover, and an offense that routinely scored at the rim and connected on 3-pointers.
SPOTLIGHT
Gasol, the Grizzlies’ point center, was the only one unimpressed with his 11 assists.
“It’s just numbers,” he said. “I don’t care if it’s a career high, season high, week high. … We just recognized what they were doing. We just played basketball.”
Gasol, who also had 12 points and five rebounds, didn’t have a field goal attempt in the first period. He had eight assists by halftime.
“It’s definitely a luxury,” Prince said of having a center skilled at passing. “He saw the rhythm that guys were in and he kept making plays.”
HOT TOPIC
A hard foul on Darrell Arthur nearly marred the game for the Grizzlies. Arthur gave the Griz a scary moment when he crashed hard to the court after Orlando’s Al Harrington fouled him with 7:33 left in the second period. Arthur landed on his back and hit his head against the floor. Referees didn’t call a flagrant and Harrington apologized for the play.
Arthur stayed in and hit two free throws. But he missed the last six minutes of the period and didn’t return.
“It’s back and neck spasms,” Arthur said after the game. “It’s like whiplash. The headache is gone. I don’t have any concussion symptoms. Right now, it’s mostly my back that hurts. I’ll come in for treatment (Monday).”
THE OTHER GUYS
Memphis scored 23 points off 16 Orlando turnovers. The Magic were without point guard Jameer Nelson, who missed his sixth straight game with a sore left knee. Arron Afflalo, Andrew Nicholson and E’Twaun Moore each scored 12 points, but the Magic shot just 39 percent. Orlando dropped to 5-24 when its opponent scores at least 100 points.
BY THE NUMBERS
“We’re just a young team who’s striving for improvement,” Aff lalo said. “At the end of the day, Memphis was down a man — one of their primary players — but they’re still on a mission right now. They came in here and handled business as they should.”
WHO’S HOT
Conley had one steal and has recorded a steal in a franchise-record 49 consecutive games. That’s the longest active streak in the NBA and the longest by any NBA player this season. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, only Chris Paul (three times) has put together a steal streak of 50 games or longer.
WHO’S NOT
Orlando has lost 17 of 19 on its home floor. The announced crowd of 16,020 was the smallest in the Amway Center’s threeyear history.
THAT’S WHAT HE SAID
“A lot of times those tough losses steamroll into a few more. We came out, we were professionals today and we executed and got the win. We took care of business.” — Griz swingman Quincy Pondexter.
HEALTH STATUS
Randolph is day-to-day with the left ankle sprain.
“It’s swollen,” Randolph said. “I’ll see how it feels in a couple of days. I want to get it 100 percent.”
The Grizzlies play again Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers in FedExForum.
Randolph was hurt Friday on the opening possession of a loss to the Miami Heat.
ROSTER MOVES
Arthur started the first half but couldn’t answer the bell after halftime. That meant Ed Davis was in the starting unit when the third quarter began. Davis played strong around the basket in nearly 25 minutes. He finished with 10 rebounds and 10 points on 5- of- 6 shooting. Hollins has said he’d like to see Davis be more active in the paint. Davis also blocked three shots and had two steals.
1: The game was tied just once at 3 two minutes into the first quarter.
10-1: Memphis’ record when it shoots at least 50 percent from the field.
11: Grizzlies 3-pointers on 24 attempts.
RECORDS
The Grizzlies (39-19) remain fourth in the Western Conference standings with a two-game lead on fifth-place Denver. Memphis sits just two games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for third. Meanwhile, Orlando (16- 44) continued its strong march toward acquiring the most combinations in the NBA lottery.
GOT NEXT
Grizzlies vs. Portland Trail Blazers, Wednesday, 7 p.m. This is the first of two meetings in seven days.