LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The Atlanta Hawks took a stranglehold on their National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference play-off series against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, romping to an 89-72 win to go 2-0 up in the best-of-seven match-up.

An early barrage of three-pointers from Kyle Korver set the tone for a one-sided encounter, as the Hawks raced into a big early lead that Boston never looked like overhauling.

Korver, Atlanta's joint top scorer with Al Horford on 17 points, hit five three-pointers, four of them in the opening seven minutes, to leave Boston reeling.

It marked a welcome return to form for Korver, who had made just three of his previous 19 three-point attempts. He missed all seven efforts in Game One.

The series now moves to Boston for Game Three on Friday, with the Celtics desperately needing to turn around their form if they are to extend the series.

The Celtics badly missed the injured Avery Bradley, who damaged a hamstring in Game One and is now expected to miss the remainder of the series.

His replacement, Marcus Smart, struggled to offer an attacking threat, failing to score until the fourth quarter before finishing with three points.

Boston point guard Isaiah Thomas scored 16 points in a losing effort, while Amir Johnson weighed in with 14 points and eight rebounds.