NBA suspends Marcus Smart three games for punching Charles Bassey

According to Varun Shankar of The Houston Chronicle, Smart and Bassey were tangled up in the post on the other end of the court on the possession before the incident occurred. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said after the game that Smart was unhappy that Bassey had wrapped up Smart’s elbow, which he injured earlier in the season, and confronted Bassey about it as they trailed the action.

Bassey admitted he “baited” Smart, who had “been playing dirty all game.”

“I knew he was gonna do something,” Bassey said. “I baited for him to do something, because I knew he was going to do something. I don’t think he was trying to play. I think he was trying to get himself out of the game. He wasn’t trying to play … I think he was trying to chill. He wasn’t trying to hoop, bro.”

Smart’s three-game suspension will cost him $125,462 of his $6,064,000 salary for this season, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The Rockets, meanwhile, will receive a tax variance credit worth $62,731. While that doesn’t seem like much, it will give them a touch more financial flexibility — they were just $14,077 below the luxury tax line before Smart was suspended, Marks adds. 

Smart, a former Defensive Player of the Year winner, will start his suspension on Friday vs. Utah and will also be out for Sunday’s game in Washington and Monday’s contest at Miami.