Rockets star James Harden misses game vs. Kings with ankle sprain
Houston Rockets star James Harden was a late scratch for Saturday’s game versus the Sacramento Kings due to a sprained right ankle.
Harden, who is again leading the NBA in scoring tihs season with a 37.0 points per game averaged, turned the ankle late in Thursday’s game versus Sacramento. “The Beard” did stay in to finish out the victory, but he was clearly in some discomfort when it happened.
Prior to Saturday’s rematch with the Kings, Harden took the unusual step (for him) of going out early on the Toyota Center court to warm up. Typically, Harden is one of the last Houston players to go through his pregame shooting routine. It appears the change was done to test the ankle, and apparently it didn’t respond as he and/or the team had hoped.
Rockets head coach Stephen Silas will update Harden’s status following the game. With Harden out, Eric Gordon started at shooting guard alongside John Wall, Danuel House Jr., PJ Tucker, and Christian Wood.
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James Harden is out with a sprained right ankle. He seemed to turn it late in Thursday's game. Clearly was shooting usually early to test it before decision was made to sit out.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) January 2, 2021
James Harden was grabbing at his ankle during the late stages of Friday’s game. He clearly got to Toyota Center early today to test it out.
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) January 2, 2021
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