Rockets James Harden could “barely see” after getting poked in eye

After Warriors forward Draymond Green inadvertently poked him in the eyes, Rockets guard James Harden had trouble with his vision for the majority of Game 2.

Thank goodness the Rockets get a full three days off before stepping on the court at Toyota Center to take on the Warriors.

Game 2 was rough for the Rockets, as James Harden went down after getting poked in the eye with 6:26 left in the first quarter and didn’t return until the 7:09 mark in the second quarter. It became clear that Harden’s injury was at least somewhat serious when the commercial break ended after the first period and The Beard was no where to be found on Houston’s bench.

As Draymond Green and James Harden fought for possession of the ball, Green’s left hand missed the orange and struck Harden across both eyes. Harden’s left eye seemed to take the blunt of the damage, as the NBA’s leading scorer had a laceration on his left eye and experienced bleeding in both eyes.

Draymond inadvertently pokes Harden in the eye going for loose ball. Harden in #pain pic.twitter.com/bFFV8W9w4h

— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) May 1, 2019

This wasn’t one of Green’s dirty antics, it was just two competitors going after a lose ball. Shortly after Harden was helped to his feet by the team’s trainers, Green checked on Harden and appeared to apologize. Harden told ESPN that he could barely see for the rest of the game.

“I can barely see. Just tried to go out there and do what I can to help my teammates.”

Throughout the remainder of the game, it was blatantly obvious that Harden’s eyes were bothering him. Every time the camera turned his way, Harden could be seen squinting or shielding himself from the bright, flashing lights.

However, Harden did score 29 points on 9-19 shooting after he returned from his eye injury, so it didn’t appear to slow him down too much. The Rockets and Warriors will face off again on Saturday, in what will be a must-win game for Houston.

Harden has a few days to get treatment for his eyes and rest up for Game 3. The Rockets will need him to put on a show in order to save the season.