Veteran NBA official Scott Foster will be the crew chief when the Rockets try to level their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.
The Rockets have feuded with Foster the past couple of seasons with James Harden calling him "rude" and "arrogant" following a loss in Los Angeles on February 21 and saying he believes Foster has a personal vendetta against the Rockets and that he shouldn't be allowed to work their games anymore. Harden was fined $25,000 by the NBA for those comments. Tuesday's game is Foster's first Rockets assigment since those comments.
Rockets guard Chris Paul has also been critical of Foster in the past, sarcastically referring to him has "the man" and saying "that's who they pay to see" following a game last season against Portland when Foster hit him with a technical foul.
Foster, 52, is in his 25th season as an NBA official. 2019 is the 20th postseason he's worked, and he's been given an assigment during the last 11 NBA Finals. The Rockets were 1-1 in games he officiated during the regular season, but they've lost six straight playoff games that he's been on the floor for, including games one and seven of the 2018 Western Conference Finals.
Ed Malloy and Eric Lewis will be the other two officials Tuesday night. Rodney Mott is the alternate.
