James Harden's vision might be better, but the Rockets star's sore eyes are still a sight.
The official diagnosis is that Harden has contusions in both eyes and a laceration on the inside of his left eyelid after Warriors forward Draymond Green hit Harden's face in Game 2 of the teams' NBA playoff second-round series Tuesday night. Unofficially, the bearded guard looks like a Sith Lord.
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Harden told reporters Thursday that his eyes are still in pain -- "[e]specially in bright lights" -- but that he plans to play through it in Game 3 in Houston on Saturday. Although he said he struggled to see in Game 2, Harden still finished the night with a team-high 29 points, shooting 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) from the field and 3-of-7 (42.9 percent) on 3-pointers. In other words, Harden's game still offers as much to fear as his red-tinted eyes.
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The Warriors added insult to the superstar's injury by taking a 2-0 series lead, and can do so again if they win Game 3 and secure an all-but-insurmountable 3-0 advantage.