Atlanta Hawks (2-0) beat Charlotte Hornets (1-1) 128-81 on the road on Friday, October 23. The final margin was 47 points.
When it got away
The Hawks broke it open in the first quarter, winning that quarter 33-20. Their lead was 13 at that break, and it stayed in double digits at every break after.
Why it was lopsided
The Hawks gave the ball away on 11.5% of their possessions while the Hornets did so 25.4% of the time and the Hawks shot 60% on an effective basis to 40.8% for the Hornets. Protecting the ball is an easy edge to overlook, but each turnover costs a shot.
The Hornets did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 34.5% against 29.3%. The Hawks made up for it elsewhere.
The game played at about 102 possessions per team. The Hawks scored 126.1 points per 100 possessions and the Hornets scored 79.8, a difference of 46.3.
The Hawks' reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 69-39.
Who stood out
Dyson Daniels (ATL) posted the best line of the night by Game Score (19.6): 11 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast, 7 stl on 5-10 shooting. The team was +32 in the minutes Dyson played.
Game Score is a single number that weighs points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, shooting efficiency, fouls and turnovers. It is not an official stat, just a quick way to rank lines.
What it means
By our Win Meter this was an upset: The Hawks entered with about a 28% chance.
Across the last 8 meetings in our records, Atlanta Hawks lead 5-3.
The Hawks are now 2-0, and the Hornets are 1-1. The Hawks last five before this game: W-L-L-L-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.