The first foul of Game 2 of the Western Conference finals was Lu Dort on Scott Foster. (Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images)
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
Game 2 of the Western Conference finals saw an early delay after a play ended in a bloody nose for veteran official Scott Foster.
The injury occurred when Foster presided over a jump ball between Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lu Dort and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle. Randle got the ball, while Dort whiffed and inadvertently struck Foster in the face with his hand.
His foot also appeared to connect with Foster’s midsection. The game was paused for a couple minutes as Foster received medical attention before returning to the game.
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Officials, including Foster, have taken on-court punishment before — it’s the price of overseeing a sport where giants are running and jumping against each other at full-speed for 48 minutes — but where Foster’s injury gets curious is who was in the building.
The animosity between Foster and veteran point guard Chris Paul is legendary. Paul famously holds a 3-17 record in playoff games officiated by Foster and has openly complained about the man to reporters. The easy joke about Foster’s injury Thursday was “Chris Paul is smiling somewhere,” but Paul was actually at the Paycom Center, as part of the MVP presentation for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
That’s quite a coincidence.
