The Atlanta Hawks were blown out at home in their first meeting with the Boston Celtics this season, 123-93. The Celtics used a big first-half from their star Jayson Tatum, to stave off the Hawks and close this one out early.
Tatum finished with 28 points on the night, but was almost unstoppable in the first two periods of play. Boston was without Georgia-native, Jaylen Brown, as Derrick White started in his stead and on his way to 21 points on 50% shooting. Jrue Holiday added 16 and Peyton Pritchard added 18 off the bench.
Trae Young maybe had one of the more forgettable games of his career, as he was forced out early with a right rib strain. No word has been given if the injury will cause Young to miss any time moving forward. The Oklahoma-product finished a dismal 1-10 from the field and 0-6 from three, for a career-low 2 points.
Jalen Johnson finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Zacchaire Risacher finished with 15 points, but continued to struggle from beyond the arc, finishing 1-6. Onyeka Okongwu posted a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, on an effiecient. 8-12 shooting.
No Hawks’ starter finished with a positive +/- rating. Jalen Johnson finished with a game-worst -34 rating.
Atlanta will look to turn the page as they host the 3-3 New York Knicks Wednesday night at State Farm Arena. Tip-off for that game is at 7:30 p.m. eastern.
