{"id":2335,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/2335","headline":"Marcus Smart ejected after throwing punch at Warriors' Charles Bassey","dek":"Bassey called out Smart's \"fake toughness\" after the Rockets held on for a 115-108 win in Houston.","body":"Marcus Smart's night ended early on Wednesday when he was ejected for throwing a punch at Warriors center Charles Bassey during Houston's 115-108 win at Toyota Center.\n\nThe incident happened in the third quarter, with the Rockets leading 82-76. Rockets guard Amen Thompson was driving to the rim while Bassey and Smart trailed the play. The two became entangled above the 3-point line, and Smart threw a right hook that grazed Bassey's nose without landing much impact. Players from both benches rushed onto the court as officials sorted out the situation, and Smart was tossed from the game.\n\nBassey did not hold back afterward, telling reporters Smart's actions were about image rather than basketball. \"I think he was trying to chill, he wasn't trying to hoop,\" Bassey said. \"Like I said, man, that was fake. Fake toughness.\"\n\nSmart is expected to face discipline from the league given the nature of the ejection. The Rockets held on for the win despite the chaos, improving their night with the victory in Houston.","published_at":"2026-11-12T19:07:55.766058+00:00","source_count":5,"written_from":[{"outlet":"CBS Sports","publisher":"CBS Sports","title":"Marcus Smart called out for 'fake toughness' after throwing punch at Warriors' Charles Bassey","url":"https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/marcus-smart-fake-toughness-punch-warriors-charles-bassey/"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Warriors' Bassey calls Rockets' Smart 'fake tough' for punch atempt","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/warriors-bassey-calls-rockets-smart-132624941.html"},{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"Warriors center calls out Marcus Smart’s ‘fake toughness’ after punch leads to ejection","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/11/12/sports/warriors-center-calls-out-marcus-smarts-fake-toughness-after-punch-leads-to-ejection/"},{"outlet":"ESPN","publisher":"ESPN","title":"Rockets' Smart ejected for throwing punch at Warriors' Bassey","url":"https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/50459125/rockets-marcus-smart-ejected-punch-warriors-bassey"},{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"Rockets' Marcus Smart ejected for throwing punch at Warriors player","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7775274/2026/11/11/rockets-marcus-smart-ejected-for-throwing-punch-at-warriors-player/"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Rockets G Marcus Smart ejected after throwing punch at Warriors' Charles Bassey","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/rockets-g-marcus-smart-ejected-after-throwing-punch-at-warriors-charles-bassey-044455483.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Marcus Smart throws punch at Warriors player, ejected from Rockets game","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/marcus-smart-throws-punch-warriors-044308031.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Rockets guard Marcus Smart ejected for punching Warriors center Charles Bassey","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rockets-guard-marcus-smart-ejected-204620082.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Houston Rockets' Marcus Smart ejected for throwing punch at Golden State Warriors' Charles Bassey","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/houston-rockets-marcus-smart-ejected-055049398.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Rockets’ Marcus Smart ejected for landing punch on Warriors’ Charles Bassey in wild scene","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rockets-marcus-smart-ejected-landing-054119054.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"‘Suspend him’ – Fans can’t believe Marcus Smart punched a Warriors player during Rockets game","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/suspend-him-fans-t-believe-054757657.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Charles Bassey Calls Marcus Smart ‘Dirty’ And ‘Fake Tough’ After Rockets Vet Tries To Punch Him","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/charles-bassey-calls-marcus-smart-061121313.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"What happened in the lead-up to Marcus Smart throwing a punch at Charles Bassey","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/happened-lead-marcus-smart-throwing-063519437.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"The tense exchange that triggered Rockets vet Marcus Smart to punch Charles Bassey","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/tense-exchange-triggered-rockets-vet-065535323.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"‘Fake toughness’ – Charles Bassey slams Marcus Smart after on-court punch in Warriors vs. Rockets","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/fake-toughness-charles-bassey-slams-070151148.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Warriors’ Charles Bassey calls out Marcus Smart’s ‘fake toughness’ after altercation","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/warriors-charles-bassey-calls-marcus-070930783.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Rockets’ Marcus Smart Ejected After Throwing Punch at Warriors Player","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rockets-marcus-smart-ejected-throwing-073825080.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Marcus Smart was ejected Wednesday night for throwing …","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/marcus-smart-ejected-wednesday-night-084957078.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Watch: Rockets' Marcus Smart ejected after throwing punch at Warriors' Charles Bassey","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/watch-rockets-marcus-smart-ejected-101240804.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Warriors center calls out Marcus Smart’s ‘fake toughness’ after punch leads to ejection","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/warriors-center-calls-marcus-smart-074613831.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Ime Udoka reveals what led up to the Marcus Smart/Charles Bassey scuffle","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ime-udoka-reveals-led-marcus-151838146.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Marcus Smart's ejection for throwing a punch could lead to further sanction from NBA office","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/marcus-smarts-ejection-throwing-punch-152742643.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Rockets Guard Ejected After Punching Warriors Player in Heated Moment During NBA Game","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rockets-guard-ejected-punching-warriors-180939420.html"}],"image":{"url":"https://static01.nyt.com/athletic/uploads/wp/2026/11/11233941/GettyImages-2300470234-scaled.jpg","credit":"The Athletic","width":2560},"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}