[ad_1]
The Phoenix Suns will fight to stay alive in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night, as the Milwaukee Bucks have the opportunity to close the series at home and win their first championship since 1971. While the Suns take the field to try and extend the series, they probably won’t be happy to see referee Scott Foster speak with them.
Foster will be the team leader for Game 6, and while referee assignments aren’t usually that big, Chris Paul’s story with the games Foster has to offer is certainly a story to watch. In the last 12 playoff games Paul played where Foster was the referee, his team went 0-12. In the first round of the playoffs, following a loss in Game 3 to the Los Angeles Lakers – a game refereed by Foster – Paul alluded to his record in matches called by Foster.
“If I were a punter, 11 games in a row” Paul said. “Eleven games in a row.”
The last loss when Foster was the referee came in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, when the Bucks blew up the Suns, 120-100. After the loss, Phoenix head coach Monty Williams criticized the refereeing, especially the lack of balance in free throw attempts.
“I’m not going to publicly complain about fouls, I’m just not going to,” said Williams. “But you can look – we had 16 free throws tonight. One person had 17.”
Williams is referring to Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 17 attempts in Game 3, which played a huge role throughout the game as he put Suns big man Deandre Ayton in trouble.
Ironically, the only game the Suns won in the playoffs that Foster umpired was one Paul didn’t play. It was Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Clippers and Paul was sidelined due to health and safety protocols. Phoenix ended up winning this game on a last-second incoming dunk from Deandre Ayton to take a 2-0 lead over LA.
Paul will be looking to break that 0-12 streak when Game 6 ends Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET.
[ad_2]
Source link