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Insider Insights: The Grizzlies Outlast the Magic for their 3rd Straight Win
The Grizzlies clinched a winning record for the month of January.
By Parish Sharkey - January 27, 2024, 9:24 am - 1 comments
The Grizzlies grinded their way down the stretch to escape with a 107-106 win over the Orlando Magic.
Santi Aldama and Luke Kennard returned to the starting lineup after missing the Grizzlies’ last game against the Miami Heat with injuries and they both looked good to start combining for six points and three assists as the Grizzlies took an early 15-6 lead. The Magic responded with a 16-6 run to take the lead 22-21 with 3:31 remaining in the first. The teams traded leads for the rest of the first quarter which ended with the teams tied at 31.
Then the Magic opened up the second quarter on an 8-2 run to take the lead at 39-33 but the Grizzlies responded with a 9-3 run to tie the game back at 42 points midway through the second. As both teams shot the ball well the Grizzlies used a flurry of threes to take a 68-59 lead at the half.
The Grizzlies shot 12-22 from three in the first half with Luke Kennard, Vince Williams Jr., and Ziaire Williams combining to shoot 9-14 of those looks. They also had four players score in double figures by halftime and held the Orlando Magic to 4-17 shooting from three.
Both teams began the third quarter on a little bit of a cold streak but Orlando handled that stretch the best as they closed their nine-point deficit to 75-71 midway through the third quarter. The Grizzlies pushed their lead back to eight points multiple times for the rest of the third quarter before leading 90-84 to end the quarter.
Ziaire Williams kicked his impressive showing into gear to open up the fourth quarter as he dished out two assists and made two baskets to help the Grizzlies push their lead to 99-88 in the quarter’s first two minutes. The Magic responded with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 99-95 midway through the fourth to make for an interesting finish to the game.
The Magic had a chance with the ball down 105-103 in transition when Vince Williams Jr. blocked a Paolo Banchero dunk attempt which then led to the Grizzlies taking a 107-103 lead a couple of possessions later off a Jaren Jackson Jr. hook shot. After a couple of crazy possessions that led to the Magic at the free throw line making 3 of 4 free throws, a shot clock violation by the Grizzlies set the stage for a final offensive possession for the Magic down one point.
Paolo Banchero had the ball at the top of the key ready to make a drive when the Grizzlies’ help defense forced a pass to Joe Ingles who missed the game-winning three as the Grizzlies prevailed. The Grizzlies had five players score in double figures and the Magic had six players to score in double figures.
The scoring leaders headline the main takeaway:
The Battle of Team USA FIBA World Cup Teammates
This matchup was the first of only two between the Grizzlies and Magic this season, which means it was the first between 2023 Team USA teammates Jaren Jackson Jr. and Paolo Banchero. Since their stint with Team USA ended last summer both entered this matchup with very impressive seasons as Paolo Banchero leads the Magic in points (22.5), rebounds (7), and assists (4.8) as they sit as the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference standings. Meanwhile, Jaren Jackson Jr. is scoring a career-high 21.6 points and leading the Grizzlies with 1.6 blocks per game.
They began this matchup with the assignment of guarding each other and Paolo Banchero got the first blow as he forced a Jaren turnover on his first drive to the bucket and scored four of Orlando’s first six points of the game. Jaren returned the favor by drawing an and-one on Banchero a couple of possessions later before Banchero blocked a transition three-point attempt by Jaren.
The two best players on the court continued to battle in the first quarter as Jaren continued to exert his will on his drives to the basket and drew Banchero’s 2nd foul of the quarter with 7:39 remaining. That led to the Magic switching him off Jaren for the remainder of the game in place of Wendell Carter Jr.
Due to the switch, Paolo Banchero was able to take advantage of smaller defenders on the offensive end while staying out of foul trouble on the defensive end until he picked up his 3rd foul with 2:21 remaining in the first. Paolo finished the first quarter with 10 points on 4-5 shooting and Jaren finished the first with nine points on 3-7 shooting.
Jaren returned to the game at the 7:51 mark of the third quarter and continued his aggressive nature on the offensive end as Paolo continued to sit with his three fouls before he returned to the game at the 4:12 mark of the second quarter. Paolo’s return did not hinder Jaren’s ability as Jaren doubled up his first-quarter scoring output to finish the first half with 18 points while Paolo hit three free throws to finish the first half with 13 points.
The Grizzlies as a team began to make life tough on Paolo on the defensive end sending double teams on nearly every drive and post opportunity as they forced him to shoot 0-6 in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Jaren continued to cook as the Magic had no answer for his aggressive nature and he scored six more points to go into the fourth quarter with 24 points on 50% shooting.
Paolo Banchero finally broke his 8 straight missed field goal attempts with a dunk early in the fourth quarter and that led to him scoring the game’s next 5 points to help the Magic cut their double-digit deficit to four points. Jaren Jackson responded with a basket in the paint but Paolo proceeded to score four more to cut the Grizzlies’ deficit to a single possession.
The back and forth continued between the two players before Paolo missed three shots in one possession when Orlando had a chance to tie or take the lead. After Jaren made a hook shot to extend the Grizzlies’ lead to 107-103 he proceeded to miss three shots in one possession himself after a Magic made free throw when the Grizzlies had the opportunity to extend their three-point lead to a two-possession game.
Ultimately both players tried to make the right play passing out of final shot attempts as Jaren passed to Ziaire Williams with a chance to extend their lead and Paolo passed to Joe Ingles with a chance to win at the buzzer. Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 30 points and 8 rebounds and Paolo Banchero finished with 27 points and 6 assists in an exciting matchup.
Jaren mentioned that he and Paolo are close and they played the same position in FIBA. He also said they had countless battles in practice and he was going to take the matchup against him no matter what because he’s a great player.
Start/Stop/Continue
CONTINUE
Coming Up
The Grizzlies hit the road for a one-off against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday at 2:30 PM CST before returning home for a three-game stand beginning Monday night.
Final Quote
“Every game is a growing lesson” – GG Jackson II
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