The Atlanta Hawks beat the Miami Heat 121-113 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday to secure their third straight win and reach a winning percentage of .500 (22-22).

The Hawks led by as much as 26 points (68-42) in the second quarter and held a 20-point lead (70-50) after the first half. By improving their defensive intensity from the third quarter, the Heat continued to cut their deficit until it went down to four (117-113) in the final 30 seconds in the fourth quarter but failed to make a comeback in the end.

One of the reasons the Heats failed was Trae Young's solid offensive performance in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Not only did he make five of the six free throws he earned, thanks to the three fouls the Heat committed on him, but Young also assisted Clint Capela to dunk a lob at 0:42 to keep the Hawks' lead at six points (117-111).

Young shot 3-for-6 from downtown in Monday's game, much better than his average 3-point rate of 32.6 percent this season. However, the Heat still managed to keep his shooting volume at 13 field goals (FGs) and didn't allow him to make any shot under the rim. Moreover, they also forced 10 turnovers out of him.

That was how the heat eliminated the Hawks 4-1 in the playoffs last season: Freezing Young because the rest of the Hawks could not work on their own offensively. The Hawks had traded for Dejounte Murray during the offseason to fix that problem, and Murray didn't let them down.

Having gone 11-for-17 from the field and 5-for-8 at the 3-point line, Murray scored 28 points for the Hawks on Sunday. Twelve of those points happened in the final quarter to shut down any potential counterstrike from the Heat. Murray also shouldered Young's orchestrating duty to deliver seven assists.

Compared with the Hawks, powered by Young and Murray, the Heat again had to count on Jimmy Butler to do everything. Not only did the 33-year-old have to drop court-high 34 points by shooting 11-for-16 in FGs and 11-for-11 in free throws, but he also had to carry the defensive responsibility of switching to guard 1.85-meter-tall Young and 2.06-meter-tall John Collins.

While Butler made the Heat's biggest offensive contribution with incredible efficiency, his teammates went 32-for-73 from the field. Bam Adebayo missed 10 of his 19 attempts. Tyler Herro, who came back from a three-game absence, missed nine of his 16 FG attempts, including shooting 1-for-7 behind the arc. No wonder the Hawks trusted Young, one of the worst defenders in the league, to guard him.

Other games on Monday (away teams come first):

Boston Celtics 130-118 Charlotte Hornets

Jayson Tatum had his first 50+ points game this season after shooting, making 15 of his 23 shots to get 51 points for the Celtics at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday.

Eighteen of Tatum's points were scored in the fourth quarter when the Hornets cut their deficit to two points (98-96). Having made four free throws and three triples in a row, he got 16 points in the final four minutes for the Celtics to extend their winning streak to seven games.

However, having all five starters reach double-digit points didn't keep the Hornets from suffering their sixth consecutive loss. Even their home fans chanted "MVP" for Tatum several times when he walked to the free-throw line in the final quarter.

Toronto Raptors 123-121 New York Knicks

Scottie Barnes scored six of his 12 points in the fourth quarter in the final minute of the period to help the Raptors gain the lead back 110-108 at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Monday. However, he missed his second free throw when there were five seconds left. RJ Barrett grabbed the rebound, tied the score with a coast-to-coast dunk and dragged the competition into overtime (OT).

The Knicks failed to keep that luck during the OT. Barrett made two free throws to cut their lead to two points (123-121) at 0:32, but Jalen Brunson's final 3-pointer hit the back of the rim. The team watched their winning streak stop at three games.

Golden State Warriors 127-118 Washington Wizards

Stephen Curry dropped 41 points for the Warriors at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. on Monday for the team to return to its  .500 winning percentage (22-22). Since Klay Thompson sat out the competition, Jordan Poole was put in the starting lineup, where he played much more comfortably to drain seven triples to get 32 points.

When Poole was playing along with Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney, he didn't have to orchestrate, which he is never good at. Furthermore, Poole enjoyed better screens from Looney and faced much less defensive attention because most of it went to Curry.

Unfortunately, the Warriors won't replace Thompson with Poole as a starter when the former comes back.

Indiana Pacers 119-132 Milwaukee Bucks

New Orleans Pelicans 103-113 Cleveland Cavaliers

Utah Jazz 126-125 Minnesota Timberwolves

Phoenix Suns 106-136 Memphis Grizzlies

Houston Rockets 132-140 Los Angeles Lakers