Hawks vs Lakers preview: Atlanta heads to L.A. in search of a victory

The Atlanta Hawks continue their western road trip with a stop to face the Los Angeles Lakers. Friday's game will be the first of two straight for Atlanta at the Staples Center as they will complete the back-to-back against the Clippers on Saturday.

Atlanta's trip began on Tuesday with a 109-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors. The Hawks rallied from 14 down to force overtime behind 19 points from Paul Millsap and 17 each from Al Horford and Dennis Schroder.

That loss dropped the Hawks to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings and a win is almost a must against what is a struggling Lakers team.

Los Angeles has lost 9 of 10 and is dealing with injuries to a number of key players. Lou Williams and Larry Nance Jr are out due to injury and the Lakers could also be without Jordan Clarkson who suffered a knee injury in Wednesday's loss to the Nuggets. Kobe Bryant logged just 11 minutes against Denver due to a sore shoulder. Both Bryant and Clarkson are listed as questionable for Friday's game.

The game will provide a good matchup at the point guard position where Lakers' rookie D'Angelo Russell is finally getting an opportunity. Russell is averaging 26.8 points over the last four games and dropped a career-best 39 in Tuesday's win over Brooklyn.

The Hawks have been on point defensively since the first of the year and have held three straight opponents under 40 percent shooting.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Friday, March 4, 10:30 p.m. ET

Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California

TV: ESPN, Fox Sports Southeast

Radio: 92.9 "The Game" FM