Atlanta @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 28, 2019 ) Atlanta 123, L.A. Clippers 118

The Los Angeles Clippers expect to get Kawhi Leonard and Paul George onto the court together for the first time this season when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. George returned from surgery on both shoulders in the Clippers' 132-127 loss at New Orleans on Thursday, but Leonard sat out on the second night of a back-to-back as part of his load management regimen.

George showed little rust on the offensive end and looked like the MVP candidate he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder last season while scoring 33 points on 10-of-17 shooting in 24 minutes. "It was seamless," Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers told reporters of integrating George into the game. "He ran plays like he'd been running it for weeks, months; and I was shocked by that. We ran a very difficult play for him; he scored six points out of it - it's all timing. And when we saw he could do it, we kept running it. We were surprised. You gotta give him credit; he must've watched a heck of a lot of film in all that to be that prepared." The Hawks are 1-2 on their five-game trip and finish the excursion with a tough back-to-back against the Clippers and Lakers in Los Angeles. Atlanta surrendered over 120 points in each of the last four games and is struggling to keep pace offensively with little consistent scoring behind point guard Trae Young and forward Jabari Parker.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), FS Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)

ABOUT THE HAWKS (4-7): Young continues to be a bright spot for Atlanta and collected 21 points and 13 assists in a 128-112 loss at Phoenix on Thursday for his fourth consecutive double-double. Young is averaging 32 points and 11.5 assists in that span but also totaled 23 turnovers. Atlanta got a boost off the bench in the last two games from center Alex Len, who moved to a reserve role this week with Atlanta starting a smaller lineup and responded with a season-high 17 points at Denver on Tuesday before besting that mark with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes on Thursday.

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (7-5): George will need some time to get his legs under him at the defensive end and gave up several uncontested shots in a performance he called 'terrible," though Rivers was willing to cut his new star a little slack. "You could clearly see, defensively, he was mixed up in some coverages tonight," Rivers told reporters, "and that's just gonna take time." Leonard, who averages 26.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and six assists, will continue to rest regularly as the team tries to keep him at full strength and George will likely ease into extended playing time as well.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Clippers PG Patrick Beverley (calf) sat out Thursday and is day-to-day.

2. Hawks SG Kevin Huerter (shoulder strain) will miss at least the next two weeks.

3. The visiting team took each of the two meetings last season, with Young's 26 points propelling Atlanta to a 123-118 win at Los Angeles.

PREDICTION: Clippers 120, Hawks 108