James Harden: Eye Injury Won't Prevent Me from Playing in Game 3 vs. Warriors

Houston Rockets guard James Harden will play against the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 on Saturday despite suffering contusions in his left and right eyes and a laceration inside his left eyelid during Game 2 on Tuesday, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com.

"If I played barely seeing last game, what makes you think I'm going to sit out Game 3?" Harden told reporters.

Harden suffered the injury while fighting Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green for an offensive rebound in the first quarter:

Harden Is Down After Taking a Hit from Draymond

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Harden still isn't 100 percent, but that won't prevent him from playing.

"Nah, still tough," Harden told reporters when asked whether the pain had dissipated. "Especially in bright lights. But I can see y'all a little bit better, so that's all that matters."

Per MacMahon, Harden visited an eye doctor Wednesday and received news that he did not suffer damage to his corneas.

Although Harden visibly played through pain Tuesday, he still excelled to the tune of 29 points on 9-of-19 shooting. He added six rebounds and four assists in the 115-109 loss.

The Rockets are down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. Although Game 3 isn't a "must-win" in the literal sense of the word, no NBA team has come back from down 3-0 to win a seven-game set.

Having Harden on the floor should only help Houston, who is a 3.5-point favorite at most sportsbooks, according to Vegas Insider. The 2017-18 NBA MVP has averaged 32.8 points in five games against Golden State this season.

The three-day break between games should also be beneficial to Harden, as it buys him more time to recover from the Tuesday eye injury.

Houston hosts Golden State for Game 3 on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET. ABC will provide the telecast.