Three Studs, Three Duds From Celtics’ Blowout Win Against Hawks

Fresh off back-to-back wins over the Charlotte Hornets, the Boston Celtics got right back to work and annihilated the Atlanta Hawks with a 123-93 win at State Farm Arena on Monday night.

Without Jaylen Brown for the second straight game, Neemias Queta started alongside Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday.

After allowing the Hawks to hang around in the first quarter, the Celtics took over in the second and led 75-53 at the half.

Here are three studs and three duds from Boston’s win in Atlanta:

STUDS
Jayson Tatum (of course)
Tatum had 22 points at the half on 9-for-13 shooting from the field and six made from beyond the arc. The Celtics superstar collected six rebounds, dished out nine assists, had two steals and finished with 28 points to lead all scorers in the game.

Derrick White
If Tatum wasn’t hitting the shot in the first half, it was White. The Celtics guard scored 21 points on the Hawks, including four three-pointers in the second quarter. White’s three-point outburst was critical to the Celtics’ building a 22-point first-half lead.

Payton Pritchard
Pritchard, like he has through the first seven games of the season, continued to contribute off the bench for Boston. The feisty role player knocked down three shots from beyond the arc for nine of his 18 points across 25 minutes of playing time. Pritchard added three boards and four assists on the night.

DUDS
Trae Young
Young did not have a good night for the Hawks. The Atlanta guard mustered just two points on 1-for-10 shooting from the field and was a minus-28 in the game with three turnovers in 23 minutes.

Hawks Offense
Atlanta averaged 118.4 points per game last season, but couldn’t break the 100-point mark against Boston’s defense. The Hawks shot 41.1% from the field. Outside of Jalen Johnson (20 points) and Zaccharie Risacher (15 points), no one in the starting five had double digits in points.

Atlanta’s Transition Defense
The Celtics scored 35 fast-break points in the game, which were the direct result of the Hawks’ 20 turnovers. Atlanta couldn’t keep up with Boston as they drove up the court to capitalize on the Hawks’ mistakes. On the other hand, the Hawks managed just four fast-break points and scored just nine points on Celtics’ turnovers.