Houston Rockets star James Harden, who suffered an eye injury in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals, is reportedly expected to be OK for Game 3 (8:30 ET, ABC).
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reports that the Rockets are optimistic that Harden will not have any further problems with his vision. Per MacMahon, once the Rockets arrived back in Texas yesterday afternoon, Harden had several tests done with an eye doctor. There was no damage to either of Harden’s corneas and the team expects his vision to be completely clear as Houston tries to climb from its 2-0 series deficit to the Golden State Warriors.
Harden was injured in Game 2 when he took an inadvertant shot to the face from Draymond Green. Harden got poked in the left eye by Green and stayed down on the court through a timeout to be looked at by the team’s medical staff. He left the court holding a towel on his head and missed the rest of the quarter.
Harden returned to the Rockets’ bench during a timeout with 9:38 remaining in the second quarter and reentered the game with 7:09 to play. TNT’s Allie LaForce later reprted Harden was swiped across both eyes and suffered a lacerated left eyelid.
Harden finished with 29 points and seven rebounds in the Rockets’ 115-109 loss. However, his eyes were still red and bothering him postgame.
“It hurt,” Harden said. “I could barely see. Just try to go out there and do what I can to help my teammates. It’s pretty blurry right now. Hopefully it gets better day by day.
“Can’t see nothing. Barely can see.”
Harden’s eyes were especially sensitive to light after the game as Harden squinted and shielded his eyes repeatedly throughout Game 2 and in his postgame news conference.
After the game, Green said he made a mistake and hit Harden in his eye. He checked on the Rockets’ star after the game and, in his postgame news conference said: “It’s not about hurting anybody out here. So many times people forget when a guy has an injury, you live with that every day, every second of every day. It’s not just about this game. If his eye is messed up, he’s got to live that every day. Just want to check on the guy.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
