Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Houston Rockets guard Marcus Smart has been suspended for three games for throwing a punch at Golden State’s Charles Bassey, the NBA announced on Thursday. During a confrontation in the third quarter of the Rockets’ home win on Wednesday, Smart delivered a blow that brushed Bassey’s nose. He was assessed a level two flagrant foul and ejected, and the league weighed in Thursday with further punishment.
“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,” James Jones, the league’s executive vice president of basketball operations, said in a statement. Smart will begin serving his suspension on November 13, when the Rockets host the Utah Jazz.
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Smart, a 12-year NBA veteran, joined the Rockets as a free agent in the off-season. In nine games, he is averaging 8.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game for the Rockets, who are 9-3 and in third place in the Western Conference.
Smart and Bassey clashed with less than a minute left in the third period. They exchanged heated words as Golden State’s Yaxel Lendeborg tried to separate them before Smart unleashed his punch.
“It didn’t surprise me, I knew he was going to do something, and I waited for him to do something, because I knew he was going to do something,” Bassey said. “I don’t think he was trying to play. I think he was trying to get himself out of the game.”
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