Houston Rockets (4-0) beat Atlanta Hawks (2-2) 120-110 at home on Monday, October 26.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Hawks struck first, taking the opening quarter 35-32 and a 3-point lead after one. The teams matched each other with 31 points apiece in the second quarter; the Hawks still led by 3 at halftime.
The Rockets won the third 28-19 to turn the game around, taking a 6-point lead into the fourth. The Rockets took the fourth 29-25; the Rockets finished the job for a 120-110 regulation win.
What decided it
The Rockets made 32.1 free throws per 100 field-goal attempts, compared with 15.3 for the Hawks. The Rockets grabbed 35.3% of their own misses, while the Hawks recovered 24.5%. The points at the line gave them room for error elsewhere.
The Hawks did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 12.1 against 20.2. The Rockets made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 106 possessions per team, the Rockets produced 113.6 points per 100 possessions to 104.1 for the Hawks.
Who made the difference
Alperen Sengun was the game's biggest individual force for HOU: 29 pts, 9 reb, 9 ast, 6 stl on 11-15 shooting. His Game Score of 32.2 led everyone. His team was +29 with him on the floor.
Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with 21 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast on 5-14 shooting, good for a 15.7 Game Score.
Jabari Smith Jr. (16 pts, 12 reb, 5 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Rockets about a 66% chance.
Across the last 5 meetings in our records, Houston Rockets lead 5-0.
The Rockets are now 4-0, and the Hawks are 2-2. The Rockets last five before this game: W-L-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.