Rockets’ Marcus Smart suspended three games for punching Warriors’ Charles Bassey during in-game scuffle

The NBA has suspended Houston Rockets guard Marcus Smart for three games for "throwing a punch that made contact with the face" of Golden State Warriors big man Charles Bassey, the league announced on Thursday.

The incident came late in the third quarter of Wednesday night's game in Houston. After Smart and Bassey got tangled up on the other end of the floor, Smart chased Bassey down and threw a punch at his head area. They were quickly broken up from there, and Smart was eventually ejected from the game with a flagrant-2 foul. Despite his absence, the Rockets went on to win the game, 115-108.

MARCUS SMART PUNCHES CHARLES BASSEY 😳 pic.twitter.com/MUsLlDHCz4

What triggered the incident? "I just talked to [Smart]. He said they got wrapped up, and [Smart]'s elbow that he hurt got bent up," Rockets coach Ime Udoka said after the game. "So, [Smart] said something to him. Bassey said, 'What are you going to do?' And he did it."

Bassey, on the other hand, blamed Smart for what happened. "He's been playing dirty the whole game," the Warriors big man said. "In the first half, I was trying to set a screen and he grabbed my…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/