The Celtics continued their dominant ways as they blew out the Hawks 123-93 on Monday in Atlanta. The C’s put up 75 points in the first half alone as the Hawks had little answers against the reigning champs. Boston improved to 7-1 with its third straight win while Atlanta dropped to 3-5 on the year.
The Celtics fell behind early in the second quarter, which led to C’s coach Joe Mazzulla calling a timeout. Then the defending champs were relentless. They ripped off a 37-12 run over the final 9:37 of the quarter, taking a 75-52 lead to the break. Jayson Tatum’s fingerprints were all over that run as he poured in 26 points in the first half.
The Hawks never made it a close game from there as the Celtics just needed to put the finishing touches on their win. Boston was also without Jaylen Brown, who sat his second straight game due to a left hip flexor injury.
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Tatum finished with 28 points and nine assists as he seemingly did it all early. Payton Pritchard also continued his spirited play off the bench with 18 points. Jalen Johnson had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks. Trae Young put up just two points and six assists as it was a forgettable night for the Hawks guard.
The Celtics return home for another marquee game, this time facing the Warriors at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at TD Garden. Here are four takeaways from Boston’s win over Atlanta:
Catching fire: When Tatum is on, he‘s one of the most exciting players in the league. That was seen throughout the first half Monday as he made the tough shots look easy. Tatum shot 9-for-13 from the field, including 6-for-10 on 3-pointers, in the opening two quarters alone. While Tatum didn‘t score as much in the second half, that’s partially due to the Celtics having such a huge lead.
Starting backcourt: The Celtics were shorthanded without Brown, but that also means a few more extra shots to go around for this talented roster. The C‘s starting backcourt of Derrick White and Jrue Holiday made their presence before they also called it an early night. White finished with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists; Holiday had 16 points in just 24 minutes. Notably, White continues to have a great start to the season as the All-Star murmurs are going to pick up if he’s able to keep it up.
An opportunity: With Brown out, the Celtics elected to go with a double big look for their starting lineup. The difference this time was Neemias Queta making his first career NBA start, suiting up alongside Al Horford. Queta has impressed throughout this road trip, playing plenty of crunch-time minutes as Mazzulla elected to reward that effort. Queta finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, including a team-high plus-31 in his 23 minutes.
Sprinting ahead: The Celtics just kept getting out in transition, but it was to the point that it was becoming an oddity. At one point, the C‘s had a 30-0 edge in fast-break points compared to the Hawks, who were playing the second game of a back-to-back. Eventually, the Hawks picked up some fast-break points. But that was a subplot from Monday‘s game where the C’s got plenty of easier points while that wasn’t the case for the home team. The final tally was a 35-4 advantage for the Celtics on fast-break points.
