Chris Paul and Scott Foster are at it again.
Just before halftime of the Golden State Warriors’ 123-115 loss to the Phoenix Suns at the Footprint Center on Wednesday night, Paul was hit with a pair of quick technical fouls and ejected after arguing with the longtime NBA official.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was given a technical foul shortly after Paul was ejected, too, which led to five free throws and gave the Suns a 16-point lead at halftime.
Paul first got upset after Foster called a foul on him with just 23 seconds left in the first half, which sent Kevin Durant to the free-throw line. Paul, who has a long history with Foster throughout his career, didn’t hold back when arguing with Foster over the call. So eventually, after Paul wouldn’t let it go, Foster hit him with a pair of technical fouls and threw him out of the game.
That’s when Paul directed some very pointed and colorful language at Foster, which led to Stephen Curry jumping in to separate the two.
Paul finished the game with six points and six assists in 17 minutes. His ejection came after a very rough quarter for the Warriors as a whole. They were held to just 16 points and five field goals in the period, which allowed Phoenix to fly ahead to a 20-point lead in the third quarter.
Paul joined the Warriors this past summer after a three-year stint with the Suns, and Wednesday’s game actually marked his first back in Phoenix since leaving the franchise. The 38-year-old has a long-running feud with Foster, which first started as him simply not being able to win playoff games that Foster was officiating and later grew to very public callouts.
“I got a tech tonight. Scott Foster at his finest, you know what I mean?” Paul said after a game in 2018 with the Houston Rockets, via ESPN. “He just never fails.”
He called out Foster by name in 2020 while with the Oklahoma City Thunder, which led to a fine — though he knew that was coming.
I asked Chris Paul about the officiating – specifically that delay of game call. He named Scott Foster as says he knows he’ll get fined.
A passionate response that includes “that shit don’t make no sense…we could have won the game” pic.twitter.com/w2MpKr3Uyr
— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) September 3, 2020
Paul was very frustrated after losing an 11th playoff game in a row that was officiated by Foster while playing with the Suns in 2021, too.
Wednesday’s incident is just the latest in their saga together. And as long as they’re both in the league, it’s sure to happen again.
Though the Warriors cut the score to single digits in the fourth quarter, their run came too late. The Suns held on to grab the eight-point win, which marked their fifth straight.
Durant led the Suns with 32 points and eight rebounds in the win. He shot 7-of-14 from the field and made all 15 of his free throws. Devin Booker added 25 points and 10 assists, and he was just two rebounds shy of a triple-double.
Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 23 points while shooting 6-of-10 from behind the arc. Curry added 16 points and six assists, and Dario Šarić added 17 points and six rebounds off the bench. Paul entered Wednesday averaging 9.8 points and 7.7 assists off the bench.
The Warriors have now lost seven of their last eight games. They’ll host the San Antonio Spurs on Friday in the NBA in-season tournament.
