NBA: Spurs shackle new Rocket Lin; Grizzlies shoot down Hawks

Undrafted forward Wesley Witherspoon carried the San Antonio Spurs to a 116-107 win over the Houston Rockets, while the Memphis Grizzlies defended their homecourt against the Atlanta Hawks, 110-102, in NBA preseason action Sunday (Monday, PHL time) Witherspoon got the start at the small forward spot and poured in a team-high 17 points, one of six Spurs that finished with double-digit scoring. Danny Green added 15 points, nine coming from beyond the arc, while Manu Ginobili dropped 11 points off the bench for the home team. The Spurs used a 15-4 run in the latter part of the first quarter to take a 13-point lead, 27-14, with 5.6 ticks left. Their advantage went as high as 18 in the fourth period after a lay-up by DeJuan Blair had it at 93-75, 9:05 left in the game. Houston's major offseason signing, point guard Jeremy Lin, was held to 1-of-10 shooting, and finished with four points, one rebound, one assist and one steal. Foreign big man Donatas Motiejunas led Houston with 16, while center Omer Asik had a double-double of 13 points and 11 boards. Meanwhile, in Memphis, the Grizzlies and the Atlanta Hawks figured in a back-and-forth game that had the Griz eventually winding up on top, courtesy of a 14-5 run early in the final quarter that made it 101-89. Atlanta had one more comeback attempt in them though, as starters Jeff Teague, Al Horford, and Josh Smith got it down to three on a Smith lay-up, 103-100, a little under two minutes left. However, Quincy Pondexter was there to drop a backbreaking three-pointer to double their advantage to 106-102. Zach Randolph and Wayne Ellington then nailed charities to finish off the visitors. Starting point guard Mike Conley had 18 points and five assists for Memphis, while center Marc Gasol had 17. Pondexter finished with 12 markers, all coming in the fourth quarter. Atlanta was led by Al Horford, who came off the bench for 13 points and five rebounds. Anthony Marrow chimed in 12 on 4-of-8 shooting. - AMD, GMA News