Celtics stretch winning run to eight

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THE Boston Celtics used a dominant third quarter to earn a come-from-behind 105-95 win over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Sunday afternoon (Monday in Manila).

The win was Boston’s eighth consecutive, extending the NBA’s longest active win streak.

The Celtics haven’t lost since Jan. 28 in Atlanta.

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Boston scored a season-high 42 points in the third quarter against Atlanta’s 23 to recover from a 10-point halftime deficit and take control of the game for good.

Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 38 points, 16 in the third quarter, and added 10 rebounds.

Point guard Trae Young had 30 points and dished out 10 assists for the Hawks, who have now lost back-to-back games and four of five. Bogdan Bogdanovic had a season-best 26 points.

After Young’s jumper opened the third quarter, Boston immediately went on a 12-0 run and tied the score at 57 on Jaylen Brown’s reverse layup and took its first lead at 62-61 on an Al Horford triple with 7:07 left.

Atlanta traded baskets to cut its deficit to two points three times after giving up the lead, but the hosts scored 14 of the last 21 third-quarter points to finish the stanza with an 87-78 advantage.

Tatum’s dunk with 3.2 seconds left was the exclamation point, accounting for the last two of his quarter-high 16 on 6-for-9 shooting.

In the other game, Anthony Edwards made seven 3-pointers and scored 37 points to lead seven players in double figures as the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves snapped a two-game losing skid with a 129-120 win over the Indiana Pacers.

D’Angelo Russell scored 23 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 15 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, which shot 18 of 34 (52.9 percent) from 3-point range and led by as many as 18 in the third quarter.

Indiana lost its sixth straight despite a strong outing from Oshae Brissett, who set season highs with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Tyrese Haliburton had 22 points and 16 assists, Lance Stephenson scored 21 points, Jalen Smith added 17 points and 12 rebounds and Buddy Hield scored 13.

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