Houston Rockets guard Marcus Smart suspended three games for punch against Warriors

Houston Rockets guard Marcus Smart (36) is taken out of the game agianst the Golden State Warriors at the Toyota Center in Houston on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. Houston Rockets defeated the Golden State Warriors 115-108. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle) Houston Rockets guard Marcus Smart was suspended for three games without pay for throwing a punch that made contact with Warriors big man Charles Bassey in Wednesday's win over Golden State, the NBA announced Thursday.Smart is set to miss Friday's game against the Utah Jazz, Sunday's contest at the Washington Wizards and Monday's game at the Miami Heat. The suspension will cost the veteran guard $125,462, per ESPN.His absence could prove crucial in either the Washington or Miami games - the Rockets likely won't not have starting point guard Fred VanVleet for one of those games as they are resting the veteran on one half of back-to-backs in the early season as he recovers from a torn ACL. Smart has been starting in VanVleet's place whenever needed.Smart was charged with a flagrant two foul and ejected from the game after the punch. He went to the locker room before the referees announced the penalty. He and Bassey were tied up in the post on the other end of the court before the altercation. They trailed the play and were talking animatedly to each other when Smart swung.Rockets coach Ime Udoka, who spoke to reporters after speaking with Smart, said Bassey had wrapped up the Rockets' guard's elbow - which Smart injured earlier in the season. Smart took exception to that and let Bassey know."Bassey said, ‘What you gonna do? ' And he did it," Udoka said.Bassey told reporters that Smart confronted him and added that Smart "had been playing dirty all game.""I don't think he was trying to play," Bassey said. "I think he was trying to get himself out of the game. If he was trying to play, he wouldn't have done that. I think he was trying to chill, he wasn't trying to hoop. That was fake toughness."Smart finished the game with 17 minutes and six points.SubscribeThere’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Houston Rockets guard Marcus Smart suspended three games for punch against Warriors.