Chris Paul overcomes Clippers, Scott Foster to even series

In one of the most baffling streaks in professional sports, Suns guard Chris Paul had lost 13 consecutive playoff games that were officiated by referee Scott Foster. The losing streak ended two days short of 10 years when Phoenix defeated the Clippers Tuesday night, 123-109.

Cal Ripken never missing a game. Joe DiMaggio getting hits in 1941. A.C. Green playing for the Lakers for eight years in his twenties and remaining celibate. These might be the only streaks that compare to Foster’s playoff run versus CP3.

Paul ran his overall playoff record in Foster games to 4-17 with the victory. In the past 10 years, Paul had lost in games that Foster officiated with four different teams – the Suns, Thunder, Rockets and Clippers. Paul’s uniform changed, but Foster’s remained the same.

There’s no obvious statistical difference for Paul in Scott Foster games. His scoring average is slightly worse – 19.2 points per game versus 20.3, but Paul averages 0.5 more assists. He’s called for three fouls per game in Foster contests, and 2.8 per game with other referee crews.

But Paul has been a vocal critic of Foster for years. In 2020, Foster told Paul before his Game 7 matchup with the Rockets that he also worked Paul’s Game 7 loss to the Spurs in 2008. Paul and the Thunder went on to lose.

Paul called out the official after he received a technical in a regular-season game, which Paul said was “Scott Foster at his finest.” A year later, Paul and James Harden both accused Foster of bias against the Rockets, with Harden calling him “rude and arrogant.”

Since then, Paul has complained about Foster after nearly every
playoff loss with the official on the court. The feud is so well-known that late in Game 6 of the 2021 Finals, Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis laughingly blocked Paul from arguing with Foster about a call.

Paul had 16 points and eight assists in the streak-breaking win – but didn’t shoot a single free throw. After the game, he downplayed the historic event.