[Post Game Thread] The Houston Rockets (4-0) defeat the Atlanta Hawks (2-2), 120-110.

Atlanta Hawks 110 - 120 Houston Rockets

Box Score: ESPNLocation: Toyota Center (Houston)Officials: Ray Acosta, Brent Barnaky, and Mousa Dagher

Game Summary

Team

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Total

Atlanta Hawks

35

31

19

25

110

Houston Rockets

32

31

28

29

120

Team Stats

Team

PTS

FG

FG%

3P

3P%

FT

FT%

OREB

TREB

AST

PF

STL

TO

BLK

Atlanta Hawks

110

42-98

42.9%

11-39

28.2%

15-21

71.4%

13

35

26

25

10

13

4

Houston Rockets

120

43-81

53.1%

8-27

29.6%

26-32

81.3%

12

52

31

22

11

22

9

Player Stats

Atlanta Hawks

Player

MIN

PTS

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

ORB

DRB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

Onyeka OkongwuF

29:00

11

5-10

1-4

0-0

5

4

9

1

2

1

1

2

0

Jalen JohnsonF

36:00

21

5-14

1-5

10-12

1

8

9

4

2

2

4

5

-9

CJ McCollumG

30:00

20

8-16

4-7

0-0

0

1

1

3

3

0

1

2

-5

Nickeil Alexander-WalkerG

29:00

12

5-13

2-7

0-2

1

1

2

3

1

0

3

4

-12

Dyson DanielsG

28:00

4

2-8

0-1

0-0

0

0

0

4

1

0

0

1

-1

Dorian Finney-SmithF

01:00

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

+7

Corey KispertF

01:00

5

2-2

1-1

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

+7

Asa NewellF

01:00

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

+7

Zuby EjioforF

01:00

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

+7

Jock LandaleC

18:00

8

3-8

0-2

2-3

4

2

6

4

0

1

0

3

-17

Luguentz DortG

21:00

11

4-11

0-5

3-3

2

0

2

1

0

0

0

3

-17

Aaron WigginsG

27:00

12

5-12

2-6

0-0

0

4

4

3

1

0

0

3

-12

Kingston FlemingsG

18:00

6

3-4

0-1

0-1

0

1

1

3

0

0

4

2

-5

Houston Rockets

Player

MIN

PTS

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

ORB

DRB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

Kevin DurantF

30:00

22

6-13

1-4

9-10

0

9

9

3

1

4

4

4

+9

Jabari Smith Jr.F

39:00

16

6-13

2-6

2-3

0

12

12

5

1

1

1

2

+12

Alperen SengunC

37:00

29

11-15

1-1

6-8

5

4

9

9

6

1

6

4

+29

Fred VanVleetG

29:00

5

2-7

0-3

1-1

1

3

4

5

0

0

2

2

+15

Amen ThompsonG

28:00

15

6-8

0-0

3-4

3

2

5

2

0

0

5

1

-3

Jae’Sean TateF

01:00

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

1

0

1

0

0

0

1

1

-7

Tari EasonF

33:00

13

4-8

1-3

4-5

1

7

8

2

0

3

1

2

+11

Isaiah CrawfordF

01:00

0

0-1

0-1

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

-7

Clint CapelaC

04:00

2

1-1

0-0

0-0

1

1

2

0

0

0

0

1

-5

Bogdan BogdanovicG

13:00

5

2-3

1-2

0-0

0

2

2

1

1

0

0

2

+1

Reed SheppardG

24:00

13

5-12

2-7

1-1

0

0

0

4

2

0

1

2

+2

Bruce ThorntonG

01:00

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

-7

Sean PedullaG

00:00

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Expensive_East4262 [OP] | HOU

33 | 5 hours ago

Hot take but I think Hawks are a bad offensive team. They have no clear cut plan outside of forcing the other team to turnovers and having some three pointers. In the first half they played their games and Rockets played according to them. But in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter taking care of the ball really took away their whole offense since in a halfcourt setting they couldn’t find the threes.

KD is playing another level, he had 4 blocks in 30 minutes and found a bucket whenever he felt like it.

Alpi was the monster they couldn’t tame. The Big Goon was gassed but still played out of his mind and find the bucket at the rim at will. I love it.

Tari surprised me pleasantly. He played with energy, showed up big time and exploited poor rim defense of Atlanta.

Another unsunken hero was Reed. He did not have an efficient game but by God, he made it count. He also bring energy to defense alongside Tari. I loved the effort.

HiChris94 | ATL

25 | 5 hours ago

This is not a hot take for the Hawks. We have no half court offense

yoyoyodawg3 | HOU

5 | 5 hours ago

HOU knows this all too well from last year. Sucks when it randomly happens some years.

Bob_Rathbun_fan

2 | 4 hours ago

Yes, a very common take.

Thornton__Melon | HOU

14 | 5 hours ago

They kind of remind me of us pre-KD.

A lot of hustle and iso

free_reezy | HOU

12 | 5 hours ago

They got a lot of raw athleticism that’s gonna get polished over time just like our team’s did.

frail7

0 | 2 hours ago

You’re overthinking it. The Rockets strengths happen to line up with the Hawks weaknesses. It’s a tough matchup for Atlanta.

armandocalvinisius | DAL

17 | 5 hours ago

so question for rox fans, what changed? i knew getting FVV helps stabilize your lineups, but if i guess, jabari becomes best role player in the league?

Expensive_East4262 [OP] | HOU

37 | 5 hours ago

Some things:- FVV is god-sent. Box score might deceive you about his impact but his two-man game with Alpi, him being able to find entry-passes every time Alpi rolls into paint, him being able to handle the ball won’t be obvious in box-score.

Another thing is bench unit is not dogshit anymore. Bogi is always a threat from outside and it opens up both the passing lanes and the paint for our slashers. And we even didn’t bring Smart and Adams.
We now have an actual offensive system that is moving constantly. Alpi possessions start at the elbow instead of the top of the key. So Alpi can threathen the going to the rim, passing to cutters, passing to Fred, KD or Jabari at the perimeter or simply post-up and finish anyways.
Also we run P&Rs pretty consistently now.

Disgruntled_Fridge | HOU

26 | 5 hours ago

One thing I will point out is that we were actually extremely good last season until like January. People forget because of the way the season ended.

Whilst I think we’re better this year, I’m cautious of getting too carried until we see this work for four months straight.

TehMasterofSkittlz | HOU

17 | 5 hours ago

Having Fred back is really it, as simple as that really. Sengun doesn’t have to play permanent point-centre this season. He was serviceable at it, but he’s not Jokic and shouldn’t be doing it full time. Having FVV back also frees up KD more so he doesn’t have to handle the ball as much and can focus on finishing plays rather than creating them entirely on his own. Jabari was good last year too, but gaining a bit of weight in the offseason seems to have helped him get to his spots more. Stevo being back too also helps a lot with the rotations. Rockets have one of the deepest centre rotations in the league currently.

SeanSungASong | HOU

10 | 5 hours ago

It’s actually just mostly Fred. We didn’t have a serviceable floor general last season.

Chaps_and_salsa | HOU

8 | 5 hours ago

Fred really is a huge stabilizing force for us, but him going down last year made damned near everyone play out of position for a fair chunk of time. That kinda forced them to improve parts of their game that otherwise wouldn’t have gone through the trial by fire of live NBA action. Reed’s defense and handles are both much improved this year. Still work to do there, but he’s miles better that he would have been had Fred not gone down last year. Similar for Amen, but he was already pretty decent at defense. His decision making and handles both look sharper. Those skills have carried over and truly made a difference I think.

Oh, and we sucked at free throws last year. I absolutely dreaded it when we’d go to the line, especially late in games. I don’t know if it’s due to Chip or they got an Etsy witch to bless their free throws, but it’s a significant improvement.

And as for Bari, he’s always been a Swiss Army knife kinda player. He’s just using more blades more often this season. I’ve always loved his game and thought he could be a huge difference maker if he put it all together.

velders01

1 | 32 minutes ago

I don’t watch ball to your level but I did see Ime give Reed a huge hug with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen from him, and thought, huh… Reed’s defense must be getting to the level of Ime’s demands.

dr_sloan

3 | 5 hours ago

Maybe it’s just because it’s early in the season and he’s fresher, but Sengun is going up much stronger and finishing at the rim better, even when fouls are called.

stochGradientDescent | HOU

2 | 4 hours ago

The biggest thing was getting back to FVV. In addition we have space openers and punishers like Reed, Bogi and Smart

StructureRude8995

1 | 5 hours ago

Last year rockets tried to run offense trough sengoon and amen, they were shit on running the offense. Most rocket offenses ended on contested shots or literal impossible shots.

kitsunegoon | HOU

1 | 4 hours ago

The team was missing a real point guard. Every single player on the roster benefitted from someone who can take care of the ball, command the offense, and remain a scoring threat.

Chessh2036 | ATL

144 | 5 hours ago

THANK YOU LORD WE DON’T HAVE TO PLAY THE ROCKETS AGAIN.

Alperen Sengun owns us. We literally can’t stop him

abboud97

25 | 5 hours ago

Onyeka needs to hit the gym I ain’t gon lie.

BellSufficient5283

10 | 3 hours ago

you never know. you might see them in the finals.

Thornton__Melon | HOU

208 | 5 hours ago

It’s October 26th and the Rockets have twice as many wins as the Texans …

Sc0rch1ngDr4g0n | HOU

44 | 5 hours ago

Sacrificed one team for the other fairs

Gordons_LambSauce | HOU

6 | 5 hours ago

seems like that’s usually how it goes tbh

shit_eating_fan | PHI

1 | 4 hours ago

Welcome to the club

inshamblesx | HOU

16 | 5 hours ago

at least we got basketball to hold us over for the next 5 or so months 😒

redraiderdevil | HOU

14 | 5 hours ago

Hey man I came in here to be happy

BangPowZoom | HOU

9 | 5 hours ago

We’re fans of Houston sports. There’s no such thing as having our cake and eating it too, lol.

I don’t think we’ve had two or more Houston teams play great at the same time since the late 2010s.

JinFuu | HOU

3 | 4 hours ago

Late 2010s everyone was pretty good?

bobbydinner | HOU

2 | an hour ago

Astros were in the World Series when Harden was cooking everyone.

lukeskope | BOS

1 | 4 hours ago

So like 7-8 years? That’s not very long.

wildmoose45 | HOU

7 | 5 hours ago

Damn…

LittyJ1tty

3 | 5 hours ago

And I was having a good day, too

Chardoggy1 | CHA

1 | 5 hours ago

Hey at least you guys are getting a hockey team apparently

frozen2665 | MIA

1 | 6 minutes ago

It’s October 26th and the Heat have less wins than the Dolphins…

Independent-Size-258

66 | 5 hours ago

I am more pumped KD didn’t have to play more than 30 mins in a win.

free_reezy | HOU

18 | 5 hours ago

Fairly comfortable win too. Health is the X factor this season.

Neverthelessx | HOU

4 | 2 hours ago

Please KD have another full healthy season this is our time now.

dpatel211 | HOU

106 | 5 hours ago

We officially own this colorway, Atlanta have to rebrand now.

darti_me | DAL

28 | 5 hours ago

Hawks gonna rebrand a la Falcons. Iron Cross and all

RyouBestGirl | SAS

9 | 5 hours ago

Thrashers

Hecka_Cakey | ATL

6 | 5 hours ago

I think a lot of us would welcome that tbh

AnonimousMn471 | MIL

6 | 4 hours ago

Force the Falcons to rebrand lol

NoPerspective5260 | West

48 | 5 hours ago

Dorian Finna Miss didn’t miss a field goal today just to let y’all know

desrever1138 | HOU

20 | 5 hours ago

I had no idea he was on the Hawks this year until tonight. He was never subbed in when we played them 2 days ago

MFFiasco

30 | 5 hours ago

Sengun looks like an All NBA player 4 games into the season.

PaintByLetters | HOU

59 | 5 hours ago

Sengun’s ceiling as a player skyrockets if he keeps shooting three’s at a high percentage on open looks. He can drive and finish on any center in the league consistently if you have to close out on his 3.

2ToTooTwoFish | HOU

28 | 5 hours ago

I just hope he doesn’t stop doing cold turkey after an inevitable cold night from 3 (everyone has them). Felt like he could do this last season, but stopped and had no more confidence and shot worse by the time the playoffs came around as a result.

PaintByLetters | HOU

13 | 5 hours ago

I might be drinking the Koolaid but it feels different this year. He looks far more confident than I’ve ever seen him shooting 3s.

Huckleberry_Sin

2 | 3 hours ago

He’s also more stable and consistent with the shot. He takes his time now and doesn’t rush. Follow through everything looks legit.

Apparently it’s one of the main things he worked on the last couple of off seasons so we may finally be seeing results. This might be the year for him.

Lmao1903 | NBA

1 | 15 minutes ago

Yes definitely, something just went wrong last year with his 3. He was good in the Eurobasket, shooting some 3s, then first game against OKC I thought wow maybe he really figured it out, this is huge for his game. But fast forward 2 months, he can’t shoot to save his life

Lmao1903 | NBA

1 | 17 minutes ago

I am cautiously optimistic about his 3s. The thing is he started last season playing great, shooting 3s and everything, then by the end he was on some crazy bad streak of missed 3s. Maybe its the fatigue or its all mental I am not sure. But Sengun with a 3 is a lock for 2nd team All NBA every year, opens up so much for his game.

MajinOni21 | HOU

26 | 5 hours ago

Sengun was nasty in the fourth quarter wow plus KD got to rest the entire fourth which was a huge plus

4-0 baby

aboooz | HOU

48 | 5 hours ago

SENGUN ALL NBA SEASON

beary_neutral | HOU

20 | 5 hours ago

Rockets are fun to watch again

WhoDey42 | HOU

17 | 5 hours ago

GAMECUBE

Haunting_Study_5530

11 | 5 hours ago

NINTENDO

Belcxce22 | HOU

17 | 5 hours ago

WE AREEEEEEEEE 4-0

(No bs I have not been this excited for a start in a long time, a very much pallet cleanser since my Texans can’t even beat the giants.)

TheCeilingIsTheRuuf | CHI

15 | 5 hours ago

Rockers are look really good. Wild how much adding VanVleet does for them, just puts all the parts in their right place

YaDaughtrDancingOnIt

13 | 5 hours ago

KD owns Ishbia

sammymate999 | HOU

12 | 5 hours ago

We are so back

Adenoh | HOU

22 | 5 hours ago

Tari Eason blowing by Dyson Daniels for that dunk was chef’s kiss

duessels | HOU

22 | 5 hours ago

Casual 5x4 from the Goon and near–triple double. He’s got a chance to be first-team all-NBA this year.

Goose_Flashy

-3 | 5 hours ago

RemindMe! 6 Months

Presence_Present | MIL

11 | 5 hours ago

Is it already time for Tari to tease his potential again ?

MastodonSwimming2681 | HOU

18 | 5 hours ago

He’s always been talented with low BBIQ. Wouldn’t be surprised for a much better season than last one now that the Rockets have a real PG

ThinksHesVayneMaster | HOU

46 | 5 hours ago

Sengun is a top 3 center in the league this season. He dominated everyone including Wemby

abboud97

9 | 5 hours ago

Should get a couple more easy wins before playing the OKC and Minnesota. Those will be fun to watch

shinypidgeotto | TOR

8 | 5 hours ago

Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now it’s here. Or should I say… 0.500 hawks

Ojuice96

7 | 3 hours ago

Sengun looks great, but he came out hot to start last season too.

Has a habit of wearing down over the season, hope his conditioning has improved to help against that this year.

All nba level player if he’s consistent

Benchjc2004 | HOU

5 | 5 hours ago

What if we win it all?

Lizpy6688 | HOU

5 | 5 hours ago

Atlanta ya gotta change unis now. We keep ketchup and mustard

bryanl12 | ATL

2 | 4 hours ago

You can have them

2cantCmePac | HOU

3 | 5 hours ago

2017 rockets and astros - closest ever to winning two championships in the sameSeason