The NBA has suspended Houston Rockets guard Marcus Smart for three games without pay for throwing a punch at Golden State Warriors centre Charles Bassey.
Smart grazed Bassey’s nose with a right hook during a confrontation late in the third quarter of Houston’s 115-108 home win on Wednesday night. Smart was assessed a flagrant foul 2 and ejected.
Suspension and season context
Smart will miss Friday’s home game against the Utah Jazz, Sunday’s game at the Washington Wizards and Monday’s game at the Miami Heat.
The 12-year veteran joined Houston over the summer as a free agent. He is averaging 8.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals over nine games, with one start. The Rockets are 9-3 and sit third in the Western Conference heading into Thursday’s action.
How the incident unfolded
Smart and Bassey engaged in the third quarter after Rockets guard Amen Thompson barrelled to the rim for a transition basket that extended Houston’s lead with 21 seconds left. In the aftermath of the play, Smart and Bassey stood face to face, jawing, as Warriors forward Yaxel Lendeborg attempted to separate them.
Smart threw the right hook as Bassey stepped back to slip the punch. The incident took place in front of referee Mitchell Ervin. Thompson and Golden State’s Gui Santos and Brandin Podziemski quickly intervened to separate the players, along with referee Brandon Adair.
Reaction
Rockets coach Ime Udoka said after the game that he had spoken to Smart, who said he and Bassey got wrapped up and his previously injured elbow got bent.
“So he said something to him, and Bassey said, ‘What you gonna do?’ and he did it,” Udoka said.
Bassey said Smart had been playing dirty “the whole game” and described the punch as “fake toughness”.
“I remember the first half, I was trying to set a screen [and] he grabbed my knee. He was playing dirty,” Bassey said. “I think I was trying to get a rebound. He was grabbing my hand, and I was trying to run back on defence. Then, he got up on me and just swung. Obviously, that was weak. I just think that was, honestly, fake toughness.
“It didn’t surprise me. I knew he was going to do something. I don’t think he was trying to play. I think he was trying to get himself out of the game. I think he was trying to chill. He wasn’t trying to hoop. That was fake toughness.”