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Preview: Hawks open April with road tilt against Spurs

NBA: San Antonio Spurs at Atlanta Hawks Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Hawks continue a seemingly endless road trip on Thursday evening. Trae Young and company visit San Antonio to take on the Spurs in prime time.

San Antonio won the first matchup between the two teams this season, winning by an 11-point margin in Atlanta on Feb. 12. However, the Spurs are in the midst of arguably their shakiest stretch of play this season, recently losing four straight games from Mar. 20-25 and trending toward the .500 mark after a hot start.

Gregg Popovich’s team is also on the wrong end of the rest spectrum in this game. The Spurs faced the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday and, while San Antonio didn’t need to travel between games, the Hawks were off on Wednesday after suffering a loss in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Still, the Hawks will need to play at a high level to ensure success on the road against a competent, well-coached opponent.

Injuries

The headliner for Atlanta is the absence of John Collins, who will miss the game with a left ankle sprain after leaving Tuesday’s tilt at halftime. De’Andre Hunter (right knee soreness) is listed as questionable after missing the last three games. Kris Dunn (right ankle surgery) and Cam Reddish (right Achilles soreness) remain out.

Because the Spurs are facing the second night of a back-to-back, their injury report is unclear at the time of this post. Lonnie Walker (wrist) was the most high-profile absence for San Antonio in their game against Sacramento on Wednesday.

The Line

As of the time of this post on Wednesday evening, the betting market as not weighed in, likely due to the uncertainty given the back-to-back for San Antonio and Atlanta’s injuries. With Collins out of the lineup and Hunter questionable, the Spurs could be viewed as small favorites at home. Atlanta’s rest advantage could balance the scales, though, and this should be viewed as largely a toss-up game.

Stay tuned throughout the day for all the latest.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Thursday, Apr. 1, 8:30 pm ET

Location: AT&T Center

TV: Fox Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass (out of market)

Radio: 92.9 The Game (Atlanta); Hawks Radio Network

Streaming: Fox Sports Go