James Harden bleeds in both eyes during loss to Warriors ... and scores 29 points
James Harden’s eyes were still red and stinging well after the final buzzer. He could barely see on the court let alone read the box score after the game. The reigning MVP hopes he will feel better with a few days off before the Rockets’ Western Conference semifinal series against Golden State resumes on Saturday. Houston trail 2-0 following a 115-109 loss on Tuesday night in Game 2.
Harden injured his eyes in the first quarter, grabbing at his face after he and Draymond Green fought for a loose rebound and Green’s left hand hit Harden in the face. The incident left Harden with bleeding in both eyes and a cut on one of his eyelids. “I can barely see. Just tried to go out there and do what I can to help my teammates,” Harden said after the game. “It’s pretty blurry right now. Hopefully it gets better day by day.”
Green patted Harden on the back and checked to make sure he was OK as the Rockets guard left the court. Harden returned in the second quarter. “We were fighting for a rebound. I made a mistake and hit him in his eye,” Green 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. At the end of the day it’s bigger than basketball when it comes to injuries.”
Harden managed to score 29 points on 9-for-19 shooting to go with seven rebounds, four assists and six turnovers. Eye drops he received only helped so much to relieve the discomfort. As good as he still was, Harden didn’t seem completely comfortable.
“He fought through some stuff. The guy looked like he was not in great shape the first half, I think it might have cleared up a little bit,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “But he got raked pretty good in the eyes. But that’s him. I didn’t have a doubt he was coming back unless it was something catastrophic. I’m sure he would have loved to have played better. Under the circumstances, I thought he played great.”