RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) _ Isaiah Rider scored 15 points before getting ejected midway through the third quarter as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Boston Celtics 105-99 in an NBA exhibition game Monday night.

Rider was ejected after he was assessed double technical fouls during an altercation with Boston's Paul Pierce.

After an early 9-0 run that provided a 9-4 lead, the Hawks led throughout en route to their third straight win. The streak comes after Atlanta lost its first five preseason games.

Boston (2-4) was within 28-24 after Dana Barros hit a 30-footer as the first quarter ended. The Celtics got no closer until Antoine Walker's 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the game cut the gap to 102-99.

Pierce led the Celtics with 27 points, while Walker added 19. Roshown McLeod and Anthony Johnson both scored 14 points for the Hawks.

Ten days earlier in Providence, R.I., Boston beat Atlanta 104-79.

It was the first NBA game played in Mississippi since 1990, when the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets also played in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.