Rockets Guard Marcus Smart Suspended Three Games Without Pay for Punch That Hit Warriors Center Bassey in the Face
The NBA announced on November 12 that Houston Rockets guard Marcus Smart has been suspended three games without pay for throwing a punch that made contact with the face of Golden State Warriors forward-center Charles Bassey. The suspension was announced by James Jones, the league's executive vice president and head of basketball operations.
The incident occurred with 21 seconds remaining in the third quarter of the Rockets' 115-108 win over the Warriors on November 11 at Toyota Center in Houston. Smart's right hand grazed Bassey's face (the officiating crew said the contact was to the nose), and Smart was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected.
The suspension begins on November 13, when the Rockets host the Utah Jazz. Smart will also miss road games at Washington on November 15 and at Miami on November 16, and will be eligible to return on November 18 at Indiana. According to ESPN's salary calculations, the three-game suspension will cost him about $125,000 in salary.
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said after the game that Smart told him the confrontation began when Bassey bent his previously injured elbow as the two became tangled. Bassey was not disciplined.
Source: NBA
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Photo: 图：马库斯·史玛特2021年效力波士顿凯尔特人队时在比赛中持球（资料图）。Erik Drost 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Marcus Smart with the ball during a Boston Celtics game in 2021 (file photo). Photo by Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
