The Celtics weren’t perfect, but they were good enough to hold off the Hawks

Jayson Tatum was 11 for 25 from the field and scored 34 points, and Jaylen Brown added 21. Al Horford returned to his starting spot and secured 15 rebounds, and two-way contract center Neemias Queta came off the bench and had 7 points and 10 rebounds. The Celtics won despite making just 13 of 47 3-pointers (27.7 percent). They outrebounded Atlanta, 66-50, and had nine steals.

But in the end, with Kristaps Porzingis (calf) and Jrue Holiday (ankle) sidelined, they held off the Hawks with hustle and effort and some contributions from unusual sources, eventually securing a 113-103 win at TD Garden.

The Celtics were shorthanded and hardly perfect against the Hawks on Sunday. They did not shoot well from the 3-point line. They received good but hardly dominant performances from their stars. They saw most of a 20-point lead erased in just minutes.

Trae Young had 33 points to lead the Hawks and Bogdan Bogdanovic started the game by making seven 3-pointers in a row and finished with 23 points.

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Horford set the tone with his energy. In the opening stretch he had a nice block on Clint Capela inside, converted a layup, and found a cutting Brown for a layup.

Dalano Banton started in place of Holiday. On the surface, this was a slightly surprising decision. But coaches often prefer not to disturb their bench rotations elsewhere when they are shorthanded. And sure enough, Boston’s backups provided another jolt in the first quarter, with back-to-back 3-pointers by Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard followed by a putback and a layup by Luke Kornet.

Young kept the Hawks within striking distance by going 5 for 7 from the field in the opening quarter, with three 3-pointers, but he cooled in the second as Boston began to pull away.

At the start of the second quarter coach Joe Mazzulla turned to Queta in a double-big lineup with Horford. He missed a pair of close-range shots, but found more of a groove over the rest of his seven-minute stint. Queta made a nice lefty jump hook, converted a 3-point play when he grabbed his own miss, and gobbled up six rebounds.

Queta’s work on the glass was part of a second-quarter surge by the Celtics, who tallied 10 second-chance points in the period. The loudest 2, by far, were provided by Brown when he chased down a rebound and roared through the lane for a one-handed dunk over Capela, putting a jolt into a theretofore sleepy crowd.

The Celtics also stretched their lead by taking care of the ball. Tatum was the only Boston player with a first-half turnover. Although he had four, he made up for them by tallying 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists before the break, helping the Celtics to a 69-53 lead.

Banton scored 6 points early in the third, giving Boston a seemingly comfortable 80-61 lead. But these Celtics have made a habit of coughing up big advantages, and it started to happen again, with Bogdanovic leading the way.

In the second quarter, Mazzulla called a timeout after Bogdanovic pulled up for his second 3-pointer in a short span, perhaps sensing the danger of him catching fire. After going 3 for 3 from beyond the arc in the first half, he started the third quarter by drilling four in a row.

The fourth, with 3:45 left, capped a 16-2 run and pulled the Hawks within 83-77.

Queta reentered the game and helped steady the Celtics by keeping the Hawks off the offensive glass. And Tatum, who was held scoreless in the third quarter, started the fourth by drilling three jumpers in a row, including a tough step-back 3-pointer that made it 103-91.

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at . Follow him .