Houston Rockets (3-0) beat Atlanta Hawks (2-1) 121-114 on the road on Saturday, October 24.
How it unfolded
The Rockets led by 11 at halftime and by 11 through three quarters, finishing with a 7-point win.
What decided it
The Rockets cashed in 23.6 free throws for every 100 shots, the Hawks only 15.3 and the Rockets shot 56.2% on an effective basis to 50.5% for the Hawks. Getting to the line gave them easy points when the shots were not falling.
The Hawks did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 38.8% against 34.2%. The Rockets made up for it elsewhere.
The game played at about 101 possessions per team. The Rockets scored 120.2 points per 100 possessions and the Hawks scored 113.2, a difference of 7.
The Rockets' reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 32-19.
Who made the difference
Jalen Johnson (ATL) posted the best line of the night by Game Score (29.8): 26 pts, 9 reb, 16 ast on 8-19 shooting. The team was +3 in the minutes Jalen played.
For the Rockets, Reed Sheppard was the best of the rest at 17.6: 19 pts, 6 reb, 7 ast on 7-13 shooting.
Jalen Johnson (26 pts, 9 reb, 16 ast), Alperen Sengun (17 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast), and Amen Thompson (17 pts, 11 reb, 5 ast) each recorded a double-double.
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 Rockets entered with about a 35% chance.
Across the last 4 meetings in our records, Houston Rockets lead 4-0.
The Rockets are now 3-0, and the Hawks are 2-1. The Rockets last five before this game: W-W-L-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.