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Lakers’ Marcus Smart, Bill Maher escape mostly injury-free after courtside collision

Originally posted on Hoops Wire | By Sam Amico | Last updated Mar 9, 2026 9:17 AM ET

You never quite know what you’ll see sitting courtside at an NBA game.

Sometimes it’s a buzzer-beater. Sometimes it’s Marcus Smart diving for a loose ball and ending up in the lap of Bill Maher.

That is essentially what happened Sunday afternoon during the Los Angeles Lakers’ matchup with the New York Knicks at Crypto.com Arena.

Smart chased a loose ball near the sideline and crashed into Maher, who was sitting courtside. Both appeared to escape without serious injury, though Maher later showed the ESPN broadcast what looked like a jammed finger.

Smart, meanwhile, appeared to favor his left hand for a stretch afterward.

Bill Maher (finger) remains courtside after collision with Marcus Smart pic.twitter.com/tNK94PPyR6

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) March 8, 2026

He even missed an open corner three and seemed to shake the hand before briefly checking out of the game. Still, he eventually returned and finished the afternoon.

The Lakers did not seem too bothered by the moment.

Luka Doncic led the way with 35 points, eight rebounds and four assists as L.A. secured a 110-97 victory. The performance came with LeBron James sidelined.

As for Smart, the stat line was not nearly as pretty. He finished with five points on 1-of-10 shooting, missing all five attempts from three-point range.

But at least everyone walked away from the courtside collision just fine.

This article first appeared on Hoops Wire and was syndicated with permission.

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