Thunder's James Harden Cleared To Return After Metta World Peace Incident

James Harden has recovered from the concussion he sustained Sunday when Metta World Peace elbowed him in the head; the Oklahoma City Thunder reserve guard has been cleared to play but will nonetheless sit out tonight's game against the Denver Nuggets, according to Royce Young of DailyThunder.

“We decided as a group to hold him out one more game and give him 24 more hours,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “He should be fine in our recovery practice tomorrow as a team and our practice Friday.”

Harden left in the second quarter of Sunday's game and did not return; he sat out last night's win over the Sacramento Kings as well. In order to gain medical clearance for a return, he had to pass the league’s mandatory concussion tests led by Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher.

With Harden now back in the fold, Brooks says he's not concerned about any lingering health effects in the aftermath of the concussion.