Atlanta Hawks

The Lakers (34-31) take a four-game winning streak into Atlanta on Wednesday, visiting the 34-29 Hawks. Both teams played on Tuesday, the Lakers getting a slow-paced win in Orlando, watching Dwight Howard practice his free throws (hitting 25 of 39 attempts). The Hawks played relatively light minutes in a lopsided defeat in Miami against the Heat. Atlanta has struggled in March, losing six of seven. Center Zaza Pachulia (Achilles injury) isn't expected to play. On March 3 at Staples Center, the Lakers won a tight battle over the Hawks on a Kobe Bryant layup with nine seconds left.

You'll have to forgive the nicest guy in the NBA if he ignores your complimentary tweets for several weeks. Jamal Crawford is not being rude. He is, to put it in his words, "#onamission. " The Clippers guard has vowed to stay off Twitter during the playoffs, apologizing to his roughly 279,600 followers with a 140-character missive on the eve of his team's series opener against the Memphis Grizzlies. "Anything worth having is worth working hard for, thank you guys for all the support," Crawford tweeted Friday.

When: 4 PST. Where: Philips Arena. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 980. Records: Clippers 8-4, Hawks 7-4. Record vs. Hawks : 1-0. Update: Both the Clippers and Hawks are playing the second of back-to-back games. The Clippers are coming off a loss, their second straight. They are finishing a four-game trip hoping to return home with a .500 record from this trip. Atlanta won at Charlotte on Friday night.

The Lakers (34-31) take a four-game winning streak into Atlanta on Wednesday, visiting the 34-29 Hawks. Both teams played on Tuesday, the Lakers getting a slow-paced win in Orlando, watching Dwight Howard practice his free throws (hitting 25 of 39 attempts). The Hawks played relatively light minutes in a lopsided defeat in Miami against the Heat. Atlanta has struggled in March, losing six of seven. Center Zaza Pachulia (Achilles injury) isn't expected to play. On March 3 at Staples Center, the Lakers won a tight battle over the Hawks on a Kobe Bryant layup with nine seconds left.

Mike Fratello, under fire because his team failed to make the NBA playoffs, resigned today as coach of the Atlanta Hawks after seven seasons. "For the best interests of the Atlanta Hawks and in my best interests, it's probably best for both of us if we part ways at this time," Fratello said at a news conference with Hawks' officials. The Hawks, plagued by injuries and internal bickering this season, finished 41-41 despite winning six of their last seven games.

The San Antonio Spurs really have minor problems in trying to sign center David Robinson, the 7-foot 1-inch franchise with a two-year Navy stint to serve. Just ask the Atlanta Hawks, who have a little experience of their own in trying to land a draft pick with a military commitment. In the sixth round of the 1986 National Basketball Assn. draft, the Hawks picked a 22-year-old, 6-9 forward who is also a private in the army.

The Houston Rockets aren't perfect anymore. The Rockets, needing just one more victory to become the first NBA team to start a season with 16 straight wins, instead lost in a rout Friday night, 133-111 to the Atlanta Hawks Mookie Blaylock scored 28 points for the Hawks and Dominique Wilkins added 27. Atlanta steadily pulled away after Stacey Augmon broke a 9-9 tie on a short lane jumper just over three minutes in.

Just as the Boston Celtics appeared to be invincible, they fell back to earth with a thud. The improving Atlanta Hawks put together a one-two punch Friday night in Atlanta and ended the Celtics' eight-game winning streak with a 131-114 victory. Glenn Rivers scored 36 points and Dominique Wilkins added 31 as the Hawks, who lost 10 of their first 14 games, won for the 10th time in their last 13. The two were deadly, Rivers sinking 12 of 16 shots, Wilkins 11 of 16.

Bob Weinhauer, assistant general manager for the Philadelphia 76ers last year, was hired by the Atlanta Hawks as an assistant coach.

Hawks 96, Lakers 92 (final) The short-handed Hawks held on to beat the Lakers, 96-92, on Wednesday night in Atlanta.  Playing without Josh Smith, Jeff Teague, Zaza Pachulia and Lou Williams, the Hawks pulled ahead by double digits early. Kobe Bryant had a monster third quarter, scoring 20 of his 31 points, but missed on a crucial baseline fadeaway with 3.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter with the Lakers down two. On the play, Bryant came down awkwardly after his shot, twisting an ankle and leaving the game with what appeared to be a sprain . Kyle Korver hit a pair of free throws with 2.6 seconds left to close out the Hawks' victory, which ended a four-game winning streak by the Lakers.  Atlanta was led by Devin Harris, who scored nine of his 17 points in a key fourth-quarter stretch that recaptured the lead for the Hawks.

ATLANTA -- Kobe Bryant severely sprained his left ankle Wednesday night and will be out indefinitely, according to the Lakers. Bryant appeared to come down on Dahntay Jones' foot after missing a baseline shot in the final seconds of the Lakers' 96-92 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Bryant left the game after the Lakers committed a foul. He did not return. X-rays were negative. Bryant was not happy with Jones, suggesting the Hawks swingman caused the sprain by purposely sliding his foot under Bryant while he was still in the air on the 18-foot fadeaway jumper.

The Lakers are still the odd team out in the Western Conference, despite climbing to .500. Although they may be able to break into the top eight, they're not going to do it by dropping home games to teams such as the Atlanta Hawks -- who they defeated 99-98 Sunday night. "We need wins by any means necessary," said Kobe Bryant after scoring 34 including the game-winner with nine seconds left.  "Atlanta came in and they played really well. They made some big shots, they executed well.  We found a way to win. " The Hawks (33-25)

Lakers 99 - Hawks 98 (Final) The Lakers won a close one at Staples Center on Sunday night against the Atlanta Hawks. Kobe Bryant hit a layup with nine seconds on the clock to put the Lakers up 99-98. The Hawks had one final chance to win the game but Josh Smith turned it over under his own basket and time expired. Bryant scored the Lakers' final six points, finishing with 34 on the night while shooting 13-27 (48.2%) from the field. The Lakers shot 48.7% from the field as a team but turned the ball over 21 times.

When: 4 PST. Where: Philips Arena. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 980. Records: Clippers 8-4, Hawks 7-4. Record vs. Hawks : 1-0. Update: Both the Clippers and Hawks are playing the second of back-to-back games. The Clippers are coming off a loss, their second straight. They are finishing a four-game trip hoping to return home with a .500 record from this trip. Atlanta won at Charlotte on Friday night.

This is the fourth in a series of profiles focusing on this year's free-agent class. Player: Kirk Hinrich, point guard Most recent team: Atlanta Hawks Type of free agent: Unrestricted Positives: The Lakers' biggest weaknesses in the backcourt were outside shooting and defense. The Lakers shot 32.6% from three-point range , which ranked 25th in the league. Even if the Lakers occasionally featured a strong outside shooting night from Kobe Bryant, Ramon Sessions, Steve Blake, Metta World Peace or Matt Barnes, none hit from long range on a consistent basis.

Don Chaney, fired as coach of the Houston Rockets on Feb. 18, was hired by the Atlanta Hawks as a consultant for the draft.

The NBA draft begins Thursday evening, so of course that means Pau Gasol's standing with the Lakers remains in limbo. Gasol has felt resigned with uncertainty ever since the nixed Chris Paul trade. Considering that the Lakers fell in the Western Conference semifinals for the second consecutive season, it's likely that feeling could last all next season - unless the Lakers trade Gasol, of course. The latest scenario, as reported by The Times' Mike Bresnahan , involved the Atlanta Hawks trying to trade power forward Josh Smith for Gasol.