National Basketball Association

Hawks stifle Boston in 1st quarter, lead 2-0 after 89-72 win

Published Apr. 20, 2016 12:23 a.m. ET

foxsports

ATLANTA (AP) The Hawks held the Boston Celtics to the lowest-scoring first quarter in the playoffs since the NBA went to the shot clock, building a 21-point lead and holding on despite an ugly shooting performance of their own for an 89-72 victory Tuesday night, giving Atlanta a 2-0 lead in the opening-round series.

Al Horford and Kyle Korver led Atlanta with 17 points apiece, but this game was essentially decided in the first 12 minutes.

The Hawks started out 9 of 13 from the field, knocking down six from beyond the 3-point arc. Korver made four from long range, a big turnaround from a 1-of-10 performance in Game 1 that didn't include any 3s. Atlanta led 24-3 just 6 1-2 minutes into the game.

Even after failing to score the rest of the period, the Hawks still led 24-7 heading to the second.

Game 3 is Friday night in Boston.