James Harden’s nightmare start to the NBA season has continued, with the Cleveland Cavaliers suffering their fourth defeat in five games, going down 124-112 to the Charlotte Hornets.

The former MVP has struggled to find his best basketball throughout the opening 11 games, with his numbers dropping to some of the lowest marks of his career.

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Harden finished with just 11 points, three rebounds and five assists against Charlotte, shooting 3-of-9 from the field and 2-of-7 from beyond the arc.

But it wasn’t just his struggles offensively that caught the attention, with the 37-year-old involved in a bizarre defensive possession during the third quarter.

Harden appeared to completely switch off defensively, allowing a Hornets player a wide-open shot before failing to secure the rebound.

The possession only got worse for Cleveland, with Charlotte grabbing another offensive rebound before Harden eventually committed a foul.

It was a moment that summed up a frustrating night for the Cavaliers, who have now lost four of their past five games.

Harden’s numbers through the opening 11 games are becoming increasingly concerning.

The former scoring champion is averaging just 15.3 points per game, his lowest mark since 2011, whilst his 5.7 assists are also his lowest average since 2013.

His shooting numbers are even more worrying, connecting on just 36.4 per cent of his attempts from the field and 37.5 per cent on two-pointers, both career-low marks.

It’s a significant drop-off for a player who has been one of the NBA’s most dangerous offensive threats throughout his career, with Harden yet to find any real consistency to start the season.

For Charlotte, the victory improves their record to 4-7, whilst Cleveland are left searching for answers following another disappointing defeat.

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DONCIC JOINS NBA HISTORY BOOKS AS LAKERS DOWN DANIELS’ HAWKS

Dyson Daniels has put together another strong performance for the Atlanta Hawks, but it wasn’t enough to stop Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers, who claimed a 124-114 victory.

The Australian finished with 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds, whilst Doncic continued his incredible start to the season with 32 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

The victory sees the Lakers improve to 10-2 on the season, whilst Atlanta drop to 7-5.

Doncic’s remarkable start has seen him join one of the greatest names in NBA history.

Through his opening 10 games, the Slovenian superstar has scored 393 points, the third-most in NBA history across a player’s first 10 games of a season.

Only Wilt Chamberlain has recorded more, scoring 529 points in 1962 and 496 in 1961.

It’s another impressive achievement for Doncic, who was recently named Western Conference Player of the Week after averaging a staggering 45 points, 8.3 assists and seven rebounds across the Lakers’ undefeated four-game week.

The 27-year-old has continued that form, with Los Angeles now riding a six-game winning streak after starting the season 4-2.

Fellow Australian Jock Landale also returned to the Hawks’ lineup, finishing with five points and five rebounds.

For the Lakers, Walker Kessler also impressed with 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block, providing plenty of support alongside Doncic.



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