Marcus Smart’s punishment for hitting Charles Bassey announced by NBA after Rockets vs Warriors

The NBA has suspended Houston Rockets guard Marcus Smart for three games after he hit Golden State Warriors center Charles Bassey during a game between the two teams on Wednesday, via NBA insider Chris Haynes.

In the third quarter of Houston’s 115-108 win over Golden State, Smart threw a punch at Bassey before they were separated by their teammates. Smart received a 2 flagrant foul for the incident and was ejected from the game.

Bassey weighed in on the situation after the contest.

“He played dirty the whole game, man,” Bassey said, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “I remember in the first half, I was trying to create a screen. My brother, he grabbed my knees. He was playing dirty.”

“I don’t think he was trying to play,” he added. “I think he was trying to get out of the game. He wasn’t trying to play, because if he was trying to play, you don’t do that, bro. I think he was trying to relax. He wasn’t trying to play hoops, bro. Like I said, man, it was fake. Fake toughness.”

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka also detailed Smart’s perspective.

“The referees didn’t say anything. I didn’t see it but I just talked to Marcus,” Udoka told reporters, via Eric Jay Santos of SI.com. “He said they had been wrapped up and his elbow, which he had injured, had bent. So he said something to him, and Bassey said, ‘What are you going to do?’ And he did it.”

Smart’s three-game suspension will cost him $125,462, while the Rockets are expected to receive a tax gap credit or $62,731 (h/t Bobby Marks of ESPN).

The veteran guard is known for his aggressive perimeter defense throughout his career, earning three All-Defensive team selections as well as the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2022.

Smart previously received a one-game suspension for language directed at an official in 2021. He was also suspended one game for punching former San Antonio Spurs center Matt Bonner in the groin in 2015.

This season, Smart is averaging 8.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from behind the arc.

Meanwhile, Bassey is in the middle of his first full year with the Warriors after being on four teams during their 2025-26 campaign. He appeared in 10 games this season, recording 7.6 points and 5.7 rebounds each night while making 66.7% of his field goals.

Smart will be eligible to return from his latest suspension against the Indiana Pacers on November 18.