Marcus Smart suspended 3 games by the NBA for throwing a punch at Warriors' Bassey

Marcus Smart of the Houston Rockets was handed a three-game suspension by the NBA on Thursday for throwing a punch at Charles Bassey of the Golden State Warriors.Smart will begin serving the suspension Friday at home against Utah, then will miss road games at Washington on Sunday and at Miami on Monday. He will forfeit roughly $125,500 in salary.Smart was ejected with 21 seconds left in the third quarter of the Rockets-Warriors game on Wednesday night after his punch at Bassey was declared a Flagrant 2 foul — “contact to the nose,” referee crew chief Mitchell Ervin said after the play was reviewed.The Flagrant 2 comes with an automatic ejection, which is then reviewed by the league office. NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations James Jones, who handles player discipline, handed down the suspension.Bassey told reporters in Houston after Wednesday's game that he felt Smart had been “playing dirty” throughout the contest.“It didn’t surprise me. I knew he was going