US EditionPacers Coach Rick Carlisle Offers Defense of Scott Foster After Referee Receives Criticism in Game 4
- Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle defended veteran referee Scott Foster amid criticism following Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Finals in Oklahoma City.
- This defense arose after Pacers fans and media criticized Foster for calling 23 fouls, including 11 on Indiana and 12 on the Thunder, in a game where Oklahoma City outscored Indiana 32-17 in the fourth quarter.
- Carlisle, who has known Foster for 30 years, highlighted the referee's long NBA career with 262 playoff games and 26 Finals appearances, praising his consistent high-level work.
- Carlisle expressed frustration over the criticism directed at officiating, especially involving Scott Foster, describing the intense scrutiny as unfair and unwarranted. Meanwhile, the NBA’s Last Two Minutes Report verified that all 17 fouls called in the fourth quarter were accurate.
- Carlisle's defense suggests that although officiating is heavily scrutinized, tough losses and many fouls are part of playoff basketball, and Foster's role remains valued despite public criticism.
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39 Articles
Pacers' Coach Issues Strong Statement On Controversial NBA Ref
Ahead of Game 5 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle came to the defense of referee Scott Foster. In his press conference on Sunday, Carlisle pushed back on the criticism of Foster’s officiating performance in Game 4 on Friday.“It’s awful what some of the things I’ve seen about the officiating and Scott Foster in particular,” Carlisle said. “He’s a great official, he’s done a great job in this playoffs.”Foster has been…
Pacers At OKC for NBA Finals Game Five – WRBI Radio
The NBA Finals renew tonight for Game Five. This time back in Oklahoma City, as the Indiana Pacers look to get the series lead back over the Thunder. Indiana is coming off a game where they led most of the way, but squandered it late to give the Thunder a 2-2 series tie heading into tonight’s match-up. Head coach Rick Carlisle criticized fans for their criticism of the officiating of the series so far on Sunday. Tipoff tonight at 8:30-eastern. (…
Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle defends referee Scott Foster after ‘unfair and unjust’ criticism
OKLAHOMA CITY — Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle offered an impassioned and somewhat unprompted defense of referee Scott Foster on Sunday, evidently aware of the mountains of online criticism that came after Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Foster was one of the three on-court referees assigned to Game 4, which had more fouls called and more free throws awarded than any of the three previous games in the series. Foster — who has long been a lightning…
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