By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Houston Rockets guard Marcus Smart was ejected late in the third quarter of Wednesday night’s win over the Golden State Warriors after swinging at center Charles Bassey.
The scuffle began with 21 seconds left in the period following a transition layup by Amen Thompson. After getting tangled up fighting for a rebound, 32-year-old Smart chased his opponent to the top of the key. The two went chest-to-chest before he threw a right hook that grazed Bassey’s nose. Officials reviewed the footage and hit the veteran guard with a Flagrant 2 foul, forcing him out of the contest.
In his postgame press conference, head coach Ime Udoka shared Smart’s side of the story. “I didn’t see it, but Marcus, I just talked to him, he said they got wrapped up and his elbow that he had hurt got bent up, and so he said something to him, and Bassey said, ‘What you going to do?’ And he did it,” he described.
Bassey told a different tale in the visiting locker room, accusing the former Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 of playing dirty all evening. “Fake toughness,” he mentioned, admitting he provoked the guard on purpose. “I knew he was going to do something. I baited for him to do something.”
Draymond Green praised his teammates for rushing in support. “You up against one, you up against all,” he said.
Georges Niang expressed surprise at the punch but defended Smart’s character. “Sometimes those emotions get the best of you,” he explained. “I don’t think Marcus Smart is a horrible person to say the least.”
Houston moved to 9–3 in the 2026–27 Regular Season with the victory. Staying at Toyota Center, they host the Utah Jazz on Friday, in a fixture also counting toward the Emirates NBA Cup 2026.
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