Marcus Smart suspended three games after punching Warriors' Charles Bassey
The NBA banned Rockets guard Marcus Smart for three games following a punch that struck Warriors forward Charles Bassey during a game in Houston.
The league announced on Thursday that Houston Rockets guard Marcus Smart will miss the next three games after being assessed a flagrant-2 foul and ejected for throwing a punch that made contact with the face of Golden State Warriors forward Charles Bassey. The incident occurred late in the third quarter of Wednesday night’s contest in Houston, when the two players became entangled and Smart pursued Bassey before striking him.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka said Smart told him the two had been “wrapped up” and that Bassey had responded, “What are you going to do?” prompting the punch. Despite Smart’s ejection, Houston held on to defeat Golden State 115-108.
Bassey accused Smart of “playing dirty the whole game,” alleging that Smart had grabbed his knee on a screen in the first half and later grabbed his hand while he was attempting a rebound before swinging at him. He described the punch as “weak” and “fake toughness.”
"He said something to me," Bassey said of the exchange. "He said something like, 'Hey, don't do that.' I said, 'Do what?' It's a grown-man's league."