Magic
Grizzlies
76 - 88 Final
  for this game

Griz end season on high note, beat Magic

Apr 27, 2012 - 3:47 AM Memphis, TN (Sports Network) - Marc Gasol scored 22 points, Rudy Gay had 20 and the Memphis Grizzlies locked up the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference with an 88-76 win over the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.

The Grizzlies ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak -- and won their last 11 at home -- to post a 41-25 record, one win better than the Los Angeles Clippers to earn home-court advantage in their first-round series.

The Magic had already locked up No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a win over Charlotte on Wednesday and will play the Indiana Pacers in the first round.

Orlando went 4-6 in its last 10 games since losing Dwight Howard and finished with a 37-29 record.

The Grizzlies earned home-court advantage for the first time, but head coach Lionel Hollins said it doesn't mean anything if they don't win.

"It's a big accomplishment from a historical perspective," said Hollins. "As I said to the players, it means nothing except we get the first two at home and if there's a seventh (game) we get the seventh at home.

"The rest of it, we gotta go play and we gotta win."

The Magic rested regulars Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick, Ryan Anderson, Jason Richardson and Quentin Richardson and were led by 18 points from Hedo Turkoglu and 16 from Justin Harper.

The shorthanded Magic shot under 19 percent in the first quarter (3-for-16) and Memphis had a 27-9 lead at the buzzer behind 11 points from Gay.

O.J. Mayo scored nine of his 15 points in the second quarter and the Grizzlies kept their foot on the pedal, shooting better than 52 percent for a 54-30 lead at halftime.

They led by as many as 26 in the third quarter, taking a 67-54 advantage into the fourth, then allowed Orlando to get within 11 points after a slight run.

Memphis quickly pushed its lead back to 17, and it was never closer than the final margin after that.

Game Notes

The Grizzlies went 13-3 in April. They shot 47.2 percent against the Magic and out-rebounded them 45-34 behind Zach Randolph's 12 boards...Orlando shot 41.1 percent.






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