Spurs (4-2) vs. Atlanta Hawks (2-3)
When, where: Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., State Farm Arena, Atlanta
All-time series record: Spurs lead 55-38
Last season: Spurs won 2-0
Last meeting: Spurs 117, Hawks 111, April 2, AT&T Center
Spurs' last game: Lost to Los Angeles Lakers 103-96, Sunday, AT&T Center
Hawks' last game: Lost to Miami Heat 106-97, Thursday, Atlanta
Spurs' injury/inactive report: Forward Drew Eubanks (G League), out; guard/forward Keldon Johnson (G League), out; forward Luka Samanic (G League), out; guard Quindarry Weatherspoon (G League), out.
Hawks' injury/inactive report: Guard Charles Brown Jr. (G League), out; forward John Collins (serving suspension), out; guard/forward Allen Crabbe (Post-op rehab, right knee), out; guard Brandon Goodwin (G League), out; center Alex Lin (right side rib contusion), probable; forward Chandler Parsons (load management, bilateral knees), out; guard/forward Evan Turner (left Achilles pain), out; guard Trae Young (right ankle sprain), questionable.
Notable: Atlanta starting forward John Collins has been suspended 25 games without pay for violating the NBA's anti-doping policy. Collins, who will begin serving his suspension Tuesday night when the Hawks host the Spurs, tested positive for Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide-2 (GHRP-2).
Selected by Atlanta with the 19th pick in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft, Collins averaged 17 points and 8.8 re bounds in the Hawks' first five games.
Atlanta has lost three straight after starting the season 2-0. The Hawks' last two losses have been to the Heat, 112-97 last Tuesday in Miami and 106-97 Thursday in Atlanta.
GAME PREVIEW
Dealt their first home loss of the season by the highly touted Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, the Spurs gleaned the positives from a game they had a shot of winning after rallying from a 19-point deficit.
Led by the dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers pulled out a 103-96 victory after the gritty Silver and Black tied the game at 90 on a layup by point guard Dejounte Murray with 4:10 left.
The win was the fifth in a row for the Lakers, who haven't lost since falling to Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers in their season opener.
The Spurs (4-2) appeared poised to snatch the victory, but their comeback fizzled down the stretch. While there are no moral victories in the NBA, the Silver and Black took solace in battling back against a team that's expected to contend for the league title this season.
"You definitely build on it," Murray said. "That's a loaded team. It's good for us to go watch what we did film-wise, see what we did wrong on both ends of the floor, move past it and prepare for the next time we get to play."
The Spurs get back to the grind Tuesday night in a road game against the Atlanta Hawks (2-3). Atlanta, which hasn't played since Halloween night, will be trying to break out of a three-game skid.
Like Murray and his other teammates, guard Derrick White struck a positive tone when he spoke with reporters after the loss to the Lakers.
"There's a lot we can learn from this game, especially in the second quarter," said White, who scored 12 points off the bench. "I feel that we didn't finish the quarter really strong. A lot we can take from it and build off of it. It's still pretty early."
White took a nasty fall when he was fouled by Lakers forward Dwight Howard with 10 minutes left. White fell on his tailbone and lay on the floor for a minute before getting back on his feet and walking gingerly.
"A little contusion," he said. "I'll be all right. I mean, it hurt. Kind of knocked the wind out of me. Tried to do some breathing for a second. Stood up and started walking around. Felt fine."
White hit both free throws before going to the bench with 9:18 left. White went back on the floor when he subbed for Murray with 1:45 remaining.
Murray had an outstanding game against the Lakers, finishing with a team-high 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. He scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, hitting 6 of 7 shots, including his only three-point attempt. He also had five rebounds and two steals in the period.
Murray is still on a minutes restriction after returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for the entire 2018-19 season. He played 24 minutes Sunday night, leaving the game for good when L.A. led 100-92 with 1:45 left.
"I try to stay aggressive the whole game," Murray said. "It's tough because I'm trying to do a lot, you know, dealing with the minutes in the back of my head. But other than that, when I'm on the floor, I'm just trying to be aggressive always.
"Being aggressive don't come from just scoring the ball. Finding teammates, getting rebounds, getting steals, hustle plays, whatever helps the team. I feel like it just worked for me in that fourth quarter."
Asked if it was frustrating to have to leave the game because of his minutes restriction. Murray replied, "Yeah, it's frustrating for sure. I mean, a loss is frustrating, but we move on. But, yeah, it's frustrating. But I know the bigger picture, so it helps me out knowing the bigger picture."
The Lakers led 56-43 at the half and went up by 19 in the third quarter, before the Spurs started their rally. San Antonio outscored L.A. 29-21 in the third period to cut the Lakers' lead to five, 77-72, heading into the final quarter.
"Every game is an opportunity to learn to get better," said Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored only eight points on 2-of-9 shooting. "Take the things that we did well, try to build on them. Take the things that we didn't do well and try to learn from them."