Scott Foster and the officiating crew made some questionable calls during Game 2 between the New York Knicks and Miami Heat on Tuesday. Fans thought that the calls favored the Knicks, which resulted in their 111-105 win.
Foster was the crew chief for Game 2, alongside Curtis Blair and Mark Lindsay, while Brent Barnaky served as the alternate official. It was a close game until the fourth quarter, with New York benefiting the most from some of the bad calls.
The Heat might have pulled off an impressive win to take a 2-0 lead heading home. Nevertheless, they put in a valiant effort, with Jimmy Butler out with an ankle injury. They were also without Tyler Herro, who suffered a fractured right hand in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
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Miami Heat fans were furious at Scott Foster, who's probably one of the most unpopular referees in the NBA. Foster is known for his "matchup" with Chris Paul, who was once 0-13 in postseason games the referee has officiated.
One Heat fan thought that they could have won the game and got the 2-0 lead heading into Games 3 and 4 at home:
"Heat should be 2-0 going back to Miami and now the Knicks have life because Scott Foster decided that he liked the team in white more."
Despite the reaction from Heat fans, Twitter remained undefeated by coming up with Scott Foster memes. Here are some of the best:
Despite questionable calls from the officiating crew in Game 2, the New York Knicks needed to make baskets, and they did. Jalen Brunson had 30 points, five rebounds and two assists. Julius Randle nearly had a triple-double with 25 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Meanwhile, the Miami Heat had to play without Jimmy Butler, who was ruled out due to a sprained ankle he suffered in Game 1. Caleb Martin replaced Butler in the starting lineup and put up a team-high 22 points.
Gabe Vincent had 21 points and five assists, while Bam Adebayo added 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Interesting facts about Scott Foster's career
Scott Foster is in his 29th season as an NBA referee. Foster has officiated 1,758 regular-season games and 234 playoff games. His most notable game as a referee was Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers.
According to DraftKings, the home teams have a 70.9 winning percentage in the regular season with Foster as crew chief. It goes down to 60.0% in the postseason. Game 2 between the Miami Heat and New York Knicks was the fifth game in this year's playoffs wherein he was the crew chief.
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