Chris Paul and Scott Foster are at it again.
Just before halftime of the Golden State Warriors’ game against 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 not safe for work 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 hole. They were held to just 16 points and five field goals as a team 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 out as him simply not being able to win playoff games that Foster was officiating and later grew to very public call outs.
“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 down the road.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.