Overview
- Smart threw a right-handed punch that grazed Charles Bassey during a stoppage late in the third quarter of Wednesday’s Rockets–Warriors game and was immediately assessed a Flagrant 2 and ejected after replay review.
- The league announced Thursday that James Jones suspended Smart for three games without pay because the punch made contact with Bassey’s face.
- Rockets coach Ime Udoka relayed Smart’s account that Bassey bent a previously injured elbow and challenged him, while Bassey told reporters he had baited Smart and called the swing “fake toughness.”
- Under NBA rules a player who throws a punch is automatically ejected and face additional discipline, so the suspension reflects the rule and Smart’s prior history of fines and past suspensions.
- Smart will miss Houston’s next three games versus the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Miami Heat, removing a veteran defensive guard from the Rockets’ rotation for those matchups.