ATLANTA — — Jayson Tatum scored 26 of his 28 points in the first half, and the Boston Celtics defeated the Atlanta Hawks 123-93 on Monday night for their third straight victory.

Tatum also had nine assists and six rebounds and did not play comfortably in the fourth quarter with the Celtics leading.

Hawks guard Trae Young left the game in the third quarter with a right rib strain. He went 1-of-10 from the floor and finished with two points and six assists in 23 minutes.

Derrick White had 21 points and six assists for Boston. Payton Pritchard scored 18 points off the bench.

The Celtics lost both games in Atlanta last season, blowing a 30-point lead in one game and losing in overtime in the other.

The Celtics have won 16 in a row when Jaylen Brown isn’t playing. Brown has missed the last two games due to a left hip flexor strain.

Takeaways

Celtics: At 7-1, the Celtics are off to their best start since 2019-20, when they started 10-1. They finished a four-game road trip at 3-1, with the loss coming in overtime at Indiana.

Hawks: Jalen Johnson continues to take a step forward after a slow start to the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds, giving him 20-plus points in four of his last five games.

Key moment

The Celtics went on a 19-4 run to end the second quarter, pushing a seven-point lead to 22. Tatum and White each had seven points during the series. The Hawks never got within 19 points in the second half.

Key stat

The Celtics hit 18 three-pointers, including 15 in the first half, and outscored the Hawks 54-18 from behind the three-point line. The Hawks came into the game shooting an NBA-worst 41.4% from deep.

Next

The Celtics return home to take on the Warriors on Wednesday, and the Hawks will host the Knicks on Wednesday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba