Houston Rockets: James Harden and Jeremy Lin Injury Status

Dec 15, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) holds his ankle after a play against the Sacramento Kings during the third quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Houston Rockets 106-91. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries just continue to pile up for the Houston Rockets as they took another hit in Sunday’s loss to the Sacramento Kings. James Harden twisted his left ankle in the third quarter as he was stepped on Ben McLemore’s foot while driving the lane. While Harden returned to the game after a quick check-up, the pain was too much and he came out of the game with 6 minutes left. He spoke about his condition after the game:

“I’m in pain right now, it was throbbing and numb. I taped it up real tight to see if I could go out there and move and it wasn’t working. So I shut it down.”

On the other hand, Jeremy Lin sat out Sunday with back spasms that he developed during the Rockets’ win over the Golden State Warriors Friday night. He had just came back from a knee injury before suffering this setback, and might be out for Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls, according to acting head coach Kelvin Sampson:

“Jeremy may be out awhile, awhile meant today and maybe against Chicago. I only played him 14 or 15 minutes in Portland because you could tell he was out of rhythm. The game kind of dictates your substitution patterns, … but I certainly made an effort against Golden State to get him more minutes. He needs to get in a rhythm. We’re disappointed that he’s out, not nearly as disappointed as he is, I’m sure.”

Rockets players have now missed a total of 43 games this season so far, on pace to shatter last season’s mark where the roster missed a total of just 50 games.