During the first half on Christmas Day between the Lakers and the Celtics, crew chief Scott Foster reviewed a block by LeBron James.
The review happened after a challenge from Lakers head coach Darvin Ham. After the officials reached a conclusion to share with the crowd, Foster read a decision aloud.
At first, it seemed like the home fans in Los Angeles were about to receive good news about Ham’s decision to challenge the call. As he continued his announcement, however, Foster made it clear that this wasn’t the case.
Scott Foster delivered coal to Lakers fans 😅 pic.twitter.com/8hnubstMh9
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter)
December 25, 2023
Here is what Foster said when he was on the microphone:
“After review, it was a good block by LeBron James. However … oh, you’re not going to like this. However, just prior to the block by LeBron James, Taurean Prince made contact with the right arm of Tatum causing him to lose the ball. Therefore, it’s a foul on Tatum.”
That means that while James’ chase-down block was clean and the challenge was ruled successful, Tatum was fouled by Prince on the possession.
You can watch the sequence of events unfold right here:
LeBron with the Chase down block on Tatum 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/O4XjUBRtlW
— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) December 25, 2023
Rare situation at NBA Playoffs: The referee bled due to colliding with LeBron James
Blocking LeBron James is a dangerous job and referee Scott Foster just experienced it, paying the price with a little blood and laughter in the middle of a tense Playoffs match.
At the end of the second half in Game 3 of the Western Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, LeBron James and referee Scott Foster had a rather rare collision situation.
The ball happened so quickly that Mr. Foster suffered a torn lip and bleeding, while James lost momentum and was unable to catch a quick counter-attack pass from his teammates. Because he was chasing the score, LeBron was unhappy about this collision.
Referee Scott Foster was bleeding after a collision with LeBron James at Game 3 of the Western Finals between the Lakers and Nuggets
As the second half approached the final minutes, Jamal Murray went to the basket to score his 30th point in Game 3, continuing the extreme momentum from the fourth quarter of the previous match. Having just been scored, the Lakers launched a counterattack as quickly as possible.
Austin Reaves received the ball and sent a pass up the field to LeBron James, taking advantage of the fact that Denver’s defense was not in position. But the ball could not reach LeBron because this 2m06 tall player weighing nearly 115kg collided with referee Scott Foster at the touchline.
Reviewing the entire collision between LeBron James and referee Scott Foster, it seems that LeBron’s elbow hit the ball while officiating the match.
Foster did not notice LeBron’s running steps, and James himself lost his rhythm and could not accelerate as initially. The result was a turnover for the Los Angeles Lakers when the ball from Reaves’ hand flew straight out to the sideline.
It seemed like this was just a normal collision. The television camera angle later showed that referee Foster had a torn lip and was bleeding. Austin Reaves was the one who immediately came to check on the referee’s situation, and LeBron also arrived a few seconds later.
Mr. Foster joked with James: “You’ve wanted to do this for a long time, haven’t you?”
Mr. Scott Foster joked with LeBron James that he had wanted to do this for a long time
Austin Reaves had a rather humorous share with Mr. Foster when he said that his teammate should have received a technical foul, which of course did not happen.
There are no penalties or whistles blown because according to the rules, the referee is also a part of the football field. Even if the ball or player hits the referee, the match will still continue.
Each NBA referee team always has 4 people, including 1 main referee (crew chief), 2 regular referees and 1 reserve referee. In the worst case, if Mr. Scott Foster cannot continue to officiate the match, a reserve referee will take his place on the field according to regulations.
Scott Foster is one of the most experienced referees officiating this year’s NBA Playoffs. He had 29 seasons as a whistleblower in the American Professional Basketball League
After four rounds, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers lost 118-109 despite playing at home. The series score is currently 3-0, belonging to the Denver Nuggets and in NBA history, no team has ever successfully come back from this gap.
