• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Warriors-Hawks Preview

Mar 5, 2010 - 5:53 PM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Golden State (17-43) at Atlanta (39-21), 7:30 p.m. EDT

Since letting a large second-half lead slip away in a loss in Oakland last month, the Atlanta Hawks are playing much better basketball.

Facing the undermanned Golden State Warriors again could help the Hawks continue their surge.

Atlanta looks to win its fourth in a row Friday when it hosts a Warriors team that's won twice on the road in three months.

The Hawks (39-21) held an 18-point third-quarter lead over Golden State (17-43) on Feb. 21 but were outscored by 21 in the fourth en route to a 108-104 loss.

Playing his first game at Oracle Arena since the Hawks acquired him from the Warriors last summer, Jamal Crawford scored 17 off the bench but was whistled for a technical foul with 34 seconds left, leading to a go-ahead free throw by rookie Stephen Curry.

Picking up a victory over a Hawks team that's won five of six and is two games behind Orlando for the Southeast Division lead could be a challenge for the struggling Warriors, who have dressed the league-minimum eight players the last four games.

Without leading scorer Monta Ellis (strained lower back), Andris Biedrins (sports hernia) and Corey Maggette (strained left hamstring), Golden State used its 35th different starting lineup and dropped to 0-2 on its five-game trip with a 117-90 loss to the Magic on Wednesday.

The Warriors have dropped eight straight and 16 of 17 on the road.

"We only had eight guys and we are out there having to play a ton of minutes and play at a high level," Curry said after missing nine of 12 shots and scoring nine points. "It is an adjustment that you have to make so we have to stick together on this road trip. We have to find some energy for Friday against Atlanta and forget about this game."

Ellis and Biedrins will not accompany Golden State on the trip and Maggette is not expected back until mid-March at the earliest, putting even more pressure on Curry, who had 32 points and nine rebounds last month against Atlanta.

While the loss of Biedrins has been a significant reason why the Warriors have been outrebounded by an average of 22.0 in the last two games, the Hawks have outrebounded their opponents by 15.0 per game during their winning streak.

Marvin Williams has been a major contributor to that effort on the boards. After averaging 7.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in his previous seven games, Williams is averaging 19.5 and 8.5 in the last two.

"I've had good looks the last couple of games," Williams said after scoring 21 with eight rebounds in a 112-93 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday. "When I have looks, I try to take advantage of them."

Williams led Atlanta with 22 points and nine rebounds in the Warriors' last visit to Philips Arena, a 115-99 victory for the Hawks on Dec. 19, 2008.

Hawks leading scorer Joe Johnson had 31 last month against Golden State and is averaging 28.3 as Atlanta has lost three of four in this matchup.

The Warriors haven't swept a season series versus the Hawks since 2004-05.