Harden Injures Both Eyes and “Can Barely See”

Star guard James Harden with the Houston Rockets said following his team’s loss on Tuesday 115-109 in Game 2 of their semifinals series in the NBA Western Conference that he could barely see after being hit in both of his eyes during the first quarter.

Harden suffered a lacerated left eyelid and bleeding in each eye but returned to play during the second quarter. He scored 29 points for the game hitting 9 of 19 from the field. However, the Rockets trailed the Warriors 2-0 in the series following the 6-point loss.

Harden said his eyes were very sensitive to light and he had to shield them and squint repeatedly while playing as well as during his new conference following the game. Harden added that his vision became a problem after being inadvertently hit by the Warriors’ Draymond Green.

Harden told the media during this news conference that he did not know if his vision would continue being an issue when the series resumes in Houston on Saturday.

Golden State star Stephen Curry left Tuesday’s game briefly as well, due to an injury suffered during the first quarter. Curry dislocated his middle finger on his left hand after attempting to tip the ball away from Houston’s Clint Capela.

The Warriors guard sat out while having an X-ray, which proved to be negative, and having his finger taped. Curry finished the game with 20 points, but hit just 6 of 16 field goals attempts.

Harden was injured when the left hand of Green smacked him on the face five minutes after the opening tipoff. The contact did not result in a foul being called and occurred while Harden was trying to rebound a missed shot of his own and Green was pursuing the rebound as well.