Houston Rockets guard Marcus Smart has been suspended three games without pay for striking Golden State Warriors forward-center Charles Bassey in the face, the NBA announced Thursday, November 12. The league’s discipline is a new development following Wednesday’s 115-108 Houston victory at Toyota Center. Smart was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected after the incident, which occurred with 21 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The suspension begins Friday, November 13, when Houston hosts the Utah Jazz.
The confrontation developed after Smart and Bassey became tangled while battling for position. They exchanged words before Smart threw the punch, and players and officials stepped in. Rockets coach Ime Udoka relayed Smart’s account that Bassey had bent an already injured elbow during the exchange. Bassey disputed Smart’s conduct and criticized his play afterward. Those competing accounts are relevant context, but the NBA’s official announcement is clear about the penalty and the contact that prompted it.
Houston will also have to manage the basketball consequences. Smart is a defensive-minded veteran who can provide depth in the backcourt, especially as the Rockets monitor Fred VanVleet’s workload during his return from injury. The three-game absence covers games against Utah, Washington and Miami, according to local reporting. The Rockets entered this stretch at 9-3 and had just ended Golden State’s eight-game winning streak. A winning result on Wednesday does not erase the disciplinary setback Houston now faces.