The Boston Celtics are in the win column for the eighth straight game after a comeback win over the Atlanta Hawks.

The game started rather rough for Boston. They were generating good looks but just couldn’t know them down as Atlanta jumped out to an early double-digit lead and maintained that for the entirety of the first half — taking a 55-45 lead into the break.

Everything changed in the third quarter for Boston. They started the quarter red hot to cut that deficit down immediately. The Cs got their first lead of the game just five minutes into the second half with an Al Horford three-pointer, they never trailed again.

The Celtics outscored the Hawks 42-23 in the third, and Jayson Tatum spearheaded the charge. He finished the game with 38 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists but he was absolutely unstoppable in the third quarter.

Tatum scored 16 points in the quarter and just absolutely took the game over on both ends of the floor. He was locking up everyone in front of him and forced the Hawks into tough shots and turnovers all half long.

It wasn’t just Tatum making plays, however. Everyone on the Celtics had a strong second half and they shut down the league’s third-best offense, holding them to just 95 points. The Celtics are ranked second in the league in defensive rating and that’s a huge reason for their mid-season turnaround.

The Celtics will look to keep it rolling in their next matchup where they will take on the Philadelphia 76ers.

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