CLEVELAND – Kenny Atkinson couldn’t help but smile as he looked at the box score and stared at his Cleveland Cavaliers’ record.

His first season as coach went perfectly.

“10-0 is something. It’s kind of a magic number, right?” said Atkinson. “I was worried about tonight because the Warriors are champions. That surprised me, how ready we were, how hungry we were. 10-0 is really something for our team.”

Darius Garland scored 27 points and Evan Mobley had 23 as the Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors 136-117 on Friday night, becoming the first team in NBA history to win its first 10 games and score at least 110 points in each of them scored. The Cavs are also the first team to start 10-0 since the 2015-16 Warriors.

Atkinson’s high-powered offense was a great fit for Cleveland, which leads the league in points per game with 124.5 and a .526 field goal percentage.

Under current Detroit coach JB Bickerstaff, the Cavaliers averaged 112.6 points and shot .479 from the field last season – with the same top nine players on their roster. They lost to eventual champion Boston in the second round of the playoffs.

The only significant change general manager Koby Altman made was hiring Atkinson after he spent three years as an assistant under Steve Kerr with the Warriors.

“This was a great job to get, just like mine was 10 years ago, and it’s a perfect place for Kenny,” Kerr said. “Continuity was already there and they were damn good last year, but Kenny has added his touch. He’s clearly a good fit.”

Atkinson’s up-tempo style quickly won over the face of the franchise, All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell. Atkinson had previously worked with current Cavs players Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert during his head coaching stint in Brooklyn, making the transition even smoother.

Utilizing Cleveland’s depth has also paid off during the best start in franchise history. Ten players average at least 15 minutes per game, but none log more than 30 minutes.

“We play fast, and we play the right way,” said backup guard Ty Jerome, who scored a season-high 20 points against Golden State. “Everyone is making shots and everyone is having fun. And the unselfishness of Donovan and Darius allows us to play that way.”

On a night when the Cavaliers built a 41-point halftime lead at 83-42 — the eighth-largest in the NBA shot clock era — and tied the team record for points in a half, several players noted that they still haven’t done so. reached their potential.

Cleveland has outscored its opponent in every game, but has only won the rebounding battle four times. The Cavs also committed 19 turnovers, leading to 30 points against the Warriors.

“That’s the thing, we still have a long way to go, a lot of things to clean up, which is great,” Allen said. “We know we can get better, and we won’t stop working until we get there. Kenny is one of the best coaches in the league and it shows.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.