James Harden and his ‘lucky charm’ have Rockets poised to make noise in Oakland in Game 5

HOUSTON – James Harden still has that reddened eye, but he wears it as a badge of honor now instead of a reason to feel sorry for himself.

“A lucky charm,” the Houston Rockets star said. “I hope it is.”

Harden is feeling better about life in general compared to a week ago. Back then, he and the Rockets left Oakland trailing the Golden State Warriors 2-0 and facing a monumental task just to make their Western Conference semifinal competitive.

The NBA’s big-scoring bearded wonder was struggling to see and was unsure when his vision would recalibrate after being accidentally raked by Golden State enforcer Draymond Green.

But after leading Houston back to a 2-2 tied series with performances of 41 and 38 points, respectively, Harden is riding the wave of positivity coursing through his team, despite retaining an ocular look that teammate Chris Paul describes as “scary.”

“It just looks crazy,” Harden said. “It is getting better. I am able to run around and see what I’m doing, so that’s all that matters. The doctor said it would probably be a couple more days or maybe another week before it clears out. As long as I can keep putting my eye drops in and I don’t feel any pain or any soreness in my eye, I should be good.”

After being such a dominant figure all through the regular season with his record-breaking scoring exploits, Harden was initially unable to provide a telling lift against the Warriors, hitting 18-of-47 from the field in the first two games and performing well below his best.

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