Howard helps Magic pound Grizzlies

Howard was 10-of-13 from the floor, Grant Hill finished with 15 points on 7- of-8 shooting and Hedo Turkoglu netted 15 points as well on 5-of-6 from the floor. Orlando shot a scorching 58.2 percent as a team, staying a game ahead of Indiana for the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Orlando got set to embark on a three-game road trip by snapping a brief two- game skid.

Chucky Atkins led Memphis with 18 points and Tarance Kinsey added 15 points. Hakim Warrick and Pau Gasol donated 14 points apiece for Memphis, which has lost five straight games.

The Magic scored the game’s first seven points, a definite sign of things to come throughout the contest. After a Warrick free throw, Orlando ran off 15 straight points for a 25-3 lead.

Hill scored seven points during the stretch and Trevor Ariza finished it off with reverse slam with 4:30 left in the first stanza.

Memphis didn’t make a field goal until Alexander Johnson’s bucket with 4:14 on the clock.

Orlando led 35-14 after one quarter and 61-44 at halftime.

The Grizzlies scored the initial six points of the second half, drawing within 61-50 on Warrick’s jumper with 10:46 to play. However, Orlando answered with a 20-4 stretch to turn the game into a rout.

A Tony Battie slam and two free throws each from Turkoglu and Howard capped the spurt. The Magic made 35-of-44 from the charity stripe on the night.

Game Notes

Memphis had won three of its last four in Orlando...The Grizzlies had also won four straight in the series...The Magic improved to 23-16 at home this season...Orlando now heads to Milwaukee, Detroit and Philadelphia...Memphis dropped to 7-33 on the road...Both teams made 3-of-9 from beyond the arc...Attendance 17,233.