It was clear that Marcus Smart would face punishment. During the latest matchup between the Rockets and the Warriors, the point guard snapped and attempted to throw a punch at Charles Bassey. He didn’t connect cleanly, but the NBA took note and has now announced a suspension for the next three games.
The incident unfolded late in the third quarter. After Amen Thompson drove to the basket, Smart and Bassey ended up face-to-face trading words while Yaxel Lendeborg tried to separate them. It didn’t help much, as Smart delivered a right hand that grazed Bassey’s nose, who managed to dodge the blow by stepping back.
Seeing the action, the referees charged Smart with a Flagrant 2 foul, resulting in his ejection from the game. Now, with the NBA’s three-game suspension, the guard will miss Friday’s home game against the Utah Jazz, Sunday’s game against the Washington Wizards, and Monday’s game against the Miami Heat. Here is the play in question.
Smart, with 12 years of experience in the American league, joined the Texas organization this past summer as a free agent. In the nine games he has played so far, he is averaging 8.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals.
Bassey on Marcus Smart: “He was playing dirty”
Far from downplaying the matter, the San Francisco big man emphasizes that, given Smart’s conduct during the game, he already expected something like this to happen.
“He was playing dirty throughout the entire game. I recall that in the first half I tried to set a screen and he grabbed my knee. He was playing dirty. I think he was trying to grab a rebound. He grabbed my hand and I tried to get back to defending. Then he came up to me and simply threw a punch. Obviously, it was a regrettable action. Honestly, I think it was a display of feigned toughness. I wasn’t surprised. I knew he was going to do something. He had no intent to play basketball. It was pure feigned toughness,” he stated.
