Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on Sunday vehemently defended veteran NBA referee Scott Foster, denouncing the public criticism of officiating following the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Game 4 victory in the 2025 NBA Finals as “awful,” “stupid,” “terrible, unfair, and unjust.”

Carlisle’s comments came during a news conference ahead of Monday’s Game 5, where he addressed questions about the officiating in Game 4, which saw an unusually high 53 personal fouls, two flagrant fouls, two technical fouls, and a total of 71 free throws. Foster, a longtime NBA official since 1992, called 23 of those fouls.

“As far as officiating, I think it’s awful, some of the things I’ve seen about the officiating, and Scott Foster, in particular,” Carlisle stated emphatically. “I’ve known Scott Foster for 30 years. He’s a great official. He’s done a great job in these playoffs. We’ve had him a lot of times, and the ridiculous scrutiny that’s being thrown out there is terrible, and unfair, and unjust. It’s stupid.”

Carlisle declined to elaborate on specific critiques he had seen but made his displeasure clear. Many fans and pundits had taken to social media to criticize Foster’s performance, with some even coining the nickname “The Extender,” implying a history of calls that prolong playoff series. However, NBA writer Tom Haberstroh referenced a study suggesting “not much evidence at all” to support this claim.

After Game 4, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault dismissed concerns about the high foul count, stating, “Well, there were a crap-ton of fouls — that’s why there were a crap-ton of free throws. I thought the refs did a good job tonight.”

Despite the public outcry, the NBA’s Last Two-Minute Report for Game 4 examined 17 disputed plays and concluded that all were “correct calls” or “correct no-calls.” Foster officiated the game alongside Josh Tiven and Sean Wright.