Playing with an ease and joy not seen in North Carolina, Tatum hit six 3-pointers in a sparkling first half and the Celtics cruised to a 123-93 win over the overwhelmed Hawks at State Farm Arena.

Tatum was 4 for 18 from the 3-point line in the two games against the Hornets. He was 6 for 14 against Atlanta, taking threes in the flow of the offense and looking more like the Tatum who hit eight in the season opener against the Knicks.

With Jaylen Brown missing a second straight game with a hip flexor, the Celtics used balance to beat the undermanned Hawks, who were missing two starters and then got just 2 points from All-Star Trae Young, who entered the game ranked 10th in the NBA at 27 points per game.

Tatum’s headbandmate, White, helped with 21 points, while Payton Pritchard continued his stellar play off the bench with 18 points in over 25 minutes. The Celtics led by as many as 37 and were never threatened after closing the first half on a 34-9 run.

It was a weekend full of drama for Tatum, who was flagrantly fouled twice in the span of six seconds in Friday’s win over Charlotte, including getting rolled by Williams in a controversial play that angered several of Tatum’s teammates.

After a day off Sunday in Atlanta, Tatum loaded up and looked like his All-Star self with his dominant first half. The NBA-best Celtics lost back-to-back games here in March, and Tatum remembered those stunning defeats.

“If we understand what happened last time when we came here, we lost two games in a row,” he said. “That was in our minds that we wanted to come out and play a lot better and win. I’m trying to find ways to be effective, handle the ball, make the call in the pick-and-roll, even if I don’t get any credit for it, which creates confusion (on defense). We get great photos from that. I’m trying to find a way to get easy ones, knowing that I can’t play the entire game one way. That’s the fun of it, trying to figure it out.”

Tatum scored 14 points in the opening period, including the final 8 when the Celtics led 35-30. After Jalen Johnson put the Hawks ahead, 44-41, with a 3-pointer at the 8:39 mark, the Celtics essentially squeezed all the intrigue out of the matchup, going on separate 11-0 runs and scoring 34 points in the final. more than eight minutes of the second period.

Tatum added a pair of three-pointers, along with a conventional and-1 and a technical free throw, to give Boston a 75-53 lead. White ended the barrage with a pair of threes in the final 39 seconds of the half.

Tatum was in better spirits than Saturday, when he reluctantly spoke to the media following the Williams controversy. When asked if the headband looked good on him, he replied: “Is it a good look? I mean, I’ll always be pretty. I often wore a headband, but it’s between me and D-White. We have an agreement between the two of us.

“I called today, so I’m waiting for him to tell me to wear a headband next time.”

With Brown out, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla decided to go with a double-major lineup, giving Neemias Queta his first NBA start in 55 career games. He finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds in 23 minutes and was a team-high plus-31.

After starting this road trip with an overtime loss to Indiana, the Celtics won their last three games by a combined 55 points, pummeling opponents with their depth. Young looked frustrated most of the night, missing nine of his 10 shots before being ejected in the third quarter.

“He’s a great player, but I thought we played good team defense,” Mazzulla said. “I thought we established our defense on this trip and I think it’s going to take all five guys to guard him. “I think everyone did a great job of defending without making mistakes, keeping him out of transition and guarding him like the whole team.”

The Celtics also chased Atlanta from the three-point line and held the Hawks to 6 of 31 shooting. It was the first time since Nov. 15, 2023, that Young was held without a 3-pointer.

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.