Veteran referee Scott Foster faced widespread criticism for his officiating in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 111-104 Game 4 NBA Finals road victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday. Two days later, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle pushed back against the narrative.
Up 2-1 and leading by 10 points at home in the third quarter of Game 4, Indiana appeared well on its way to a commanding 3-1 series lead. Instead, OKC rallied to win behind a standout defensive effort, outscoring the Pacers 31-17 in the fourth quarter.
However, many felt that uneven officiating also contributed to the Thunder’s series-tying victory. Most of that ire was directed at Foster, who was accused of calling questionable fouls while overlooking what were perceived as blatant fouls, leading Carlisle to intervene.
Rick Carlisle Defends Scott Foster by Calling Him ‘A Great Official’
Friday’s contest featured 53 personal fouls, two flagrant fouls and two technical fouls, resulting in 71 free throws. Of that total, 23 fouls were called by Foster.
Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shot 10 of those free throws, including eight in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, he got away with an apparent push off against Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith on a go-ahead jumper that put his squad up 104-103 with 2:23 remaining.
Seeing people say
“So what, Jordan got calls too, are you new to basketball?”
This is a strawman. The issue isn’t SGA having a good whistle. The issue is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is allowed to push off incessantly, and it’s how he scores most of his points. pic.twitter.com/NTW66i8l3H
— TakeThis (@TakeThis17) June 14, 2025
The controversial play took place directly in front of Foster, who has garnered the nickname “The Extender” due to teams behind in playoff series frequently winning games he calls.
Nevertheless, at Sunday’s practice, Carlisle came to Foster’s defense, citing his longstanding relationship with the referee, who began officiating NBA games during the 1994-95 season.
“It’s awful some of the things I’ve seen about the officiating, and Scott Foster in particular,” Carlisle said. “I’ve known Scott Foster for 30 years. He’s a great official, he’s done a great job in these playoffs. We’ve had him a lot of times, and the ridiculous scrutiny that’s being thrown out there is terrible and unfair and unjust and stupid.”
Rick Carlisle on Scott Foster —
“I’ve known Scott Foster 30 years, he’s a great official…The ridiculous scrutiny that’s thrown out there is terrible, unfair, unjust, and stupid.”
(Via @ByTimReynolds, h/t @Fullcourtpass)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 15, 2025
Carlisle avoided mentioning any specific calls while backing Foster. Moreover, he previously attributed his team’s late-game struggles to deficiencies in rebounding, defense and ball movement, rather than officiating concerns.
“An inability to come up with rebounds, an inability to get key stops was a part of it, and then we just got too stagnant,” Carlisle said.
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“The ball was not being advanced quickly enough. We weren’t creating problems, and we were up against the clock a lot. Things got very difficult. But you’ve got to give Oklahoma credit. They made it very difficult,” he further added.
Game 5 takes place on Monday in OKC, where officiating will likely once again be under the microscope. However, with the teams tied 2-2, unlike Game 4, the winner won’t extend the series at this juncture.
Crybabies always attack the officials. SGA doesn’t push off any more than anyone else. He’s so quick the only way to stop him is to foul.