Sports / Basketball |
Warrick keys Grizzlies' win over Magic(AP)Updated: 2006-11-21 15:12 MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Hakim Warrick scored 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, keying a Memphis rally and giving the Grizzlies a 95-86 victory over the Orlando Magic on Monday night. The victory snapped a 7-game losing streak for Memphis, which rallied from a 7-point deficit with 5:33 left. The Grizzlies put together a 21-2 run to erase the Magic lead and build the advantage to 12 points in the closing seconds. The Magic saw their 4-game winning streak come to an end with the loss. Dwight Howard scored 24 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to lead the Magic. It marked Howard's third 20-20 game out of the Magic's first 11. Grant Hill added 16 for Orlando, while Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson added 12 each. Rookie Kyle Lowry had 16 points off the Memphis bench to go with six assists, while Jake Tskalidis had 11 points. Lowry, who was 6-of-10 from the field, grabbed five rebounds, including several key boards down the stretch as Memphis overtook the Magic and extended the lead. The Magic led 80-73 with 5:33 left when Battie hit a 5-footer. But Memphis scored nine unanswered points, capped by a 3-pointer from Mike Miller to give the Grizzlies an 82-80 lead with 3:38 left. They continued to extend it until a pair of free throws by Tsakalidis built the lead to 94-82 with 22.8 seconds left. Orlando led 45-40 at the half behind 12 points each from Hill and Howard, who grabbed 13 rebounds. In the early minutes, everything the Grizzlies tried was futile: They could do nothing with Howard as the Magic center had 9 points and 8 rebounds at the end of the first quarter. Most of those came inside on follows and dunks, and by the second period, Howard already had reached his fifth double-double in the last six games. Meanwhile, Memphis was struggling from the field, shooting 26 percent early. Still, when Howard took a breather in the second quarter, Memphis ¡ª behind Warrick, who had 11 in the half ¡ª was able to take its first lead midway through the period. The Grizzlies whittled away at the Magic lead in the third and even overtook Orlando. But back-to-back baskets by Nelson and Hill scoring inside helped the Magic hold on to a 65-63 lead entering the fourth. |
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