Rockets guard Marcus Smart was ejected Wednesday night after throwing a right hook that grazed the nose of Warriors center Charles Bassey in Houston. Smart did not wait for the official review. He walked straight to the locker room after the punch. The review later ruled the contact a flagrant foul 2, which carries an automatic ejection.
The incident unfolded in the third quarter. Amen Thompson barreled to the rim for a transition basket that extended Houston’s lead with 21 seconds left. Afterward, Smart and Bassey stood face to face, jawing at each other while Warriors forward Yaxel Lendeborg tried to separate them.
Smart then threw the punch as he stepped back to slip Bassey’s attempt to engage. The contact happened directly in front of referee Mitchell Ervin. Thompson, along with Warriors players Gui Santos and Brandin Podziemski, moved quickly to pull the players apart. Referee Brandon Adair also stepped in. After reviewing the play, Ervin assessed Smart a flagrant 2 for “contact to the nose” of Bassey.
Explanations from both sides
Rockets coach Ime Udoka said Houston won 115-108. He said he had spoken with Smart, who told him that he and Bassey got wrapped up and that his previously injured elbow got bent. Udoka described the sequence this way: “So he said something to him, and Bassey said, ‘What you gonna do?’ and he did it.”
Bassey accused Smart of playing dirty throughout the game. He said Smart “grabbed my knee” while he tried to set a screen in the first half and “was grabbing my hand” while he tried to get a rebound and get back on defense. “Then he got up on me and just swung,” Bassey said. “Obviously, that was weak. I just think that was, honestly, fake toughness.”
Bassey added that the punch did not surprise him. “I knew he was going to do something,” he said. “I don’t think he was trying to play. I think he was trying to get himself out of the game. I think he was trying to chill. He wasn’t trying to hoop. That was fake toughness.”
Smart’s night and history
Smart, 32, played 16 minutes and finished with six points, two rebounds and one assist. The 12-year veteran joined Houston over the summer in free agency. Over nine games with one start, he is averaging 8.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals.
Wednesday marked Smart’s 13th career ejection. It was his first since the 2023-24 season, when he played for the Memphis Grizzlies.