James Harden finds form as the Brooklyn Nets defeat the Indiana Pacers

James Harden produced his best game of the early season to help the Brooklyn Nets to victory over the Indiana Pacers 105-98 on Friday.

Harden, who has struggled so far finding his scoring groove, converted 16 of his 19 free throw attempts en route to a game-high 29 points.

Despite giving up an early 12-point deficit, Brooklyn were able to tighten up defensively through the middle of the game, restricting the Pacers to less than 20 points in the second and third quarters.

A late surge was not enough for Indiana as the Pacers fell to just one win and five losses from their first six games.

LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony combined for 50 points to help the Los Angeles Lakers snap the Cleveland Cavaliers’ three-game winning streak.

The game remained neck-and-neck through three quarters, but the veteran Lakers duo took charge down the stretch to seal a 113-101 victory.

Russell Westbrook added 19 points for Los Angeles, while Evan Mobley led the way for Cleveland with 23.

Scottie Barnes edged Jalen Suggs in a clash of the rookies as the Toronto Raptors narrowly beat the Orlando Magic 110-109.

Barnes, who was picked one spot ahead of Suggs in this year’s draft, finished with 21 points and nine rebounds in a thrilling contest which almost saw Suggs single-handedly complete a late comeback.

However, the Magic were ultimately left to rue a sloppy inbounds play at the final buzzer as they fell to a third successive defeat.

Elsewhere, the Sacramento Kings snuck past the New Orleans Pelicans 113-109 while there were big wins for the Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets.