Fresh off one of the greatest NBA Finals games ever, most of the online discourse surrounded the officials — specifically Scott Foster. He was the head referee for the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s 111-104 Game 4 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Little was made about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s heroics. The MVP winner put up 15 points in the fourth quarter. A lot was made about the Thunder’s free-throw numbers. The second half crawled at a snail’s pace. The Thunder went 34-of-38 on free throws. The Pacers went 25-of-33.

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After a dramatic finish, Foster trended on social media for the wrong reasons. Many accused him of helping the Thunder even the 2025 NBA Finals at 2-2 apiece. They’ve even coined him “The Extender” as the NBA’s hitman to extend a playoff series.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle is having none of it. He spent a part of his Sunday NBA Finals media availability defending Foster. He had a similar moment earlier in the championship series when ESPN’s Doris Burke was heavily criticized for her commentary.

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

The old saying goes that if you know an official’s name by heart, it’s for all the wrong reasons. To defend Foster a bit, the online reactions to him being assigned were already bad. Everybody conceded it meant the Thunder would tie the series. The game’s aftermath was just textbook confirmation bias. Even if they called too many fouls late in the game.

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While some folks might cynically view this as Carlisle playing some reverse psychology ahead of an important Game 5, it’s easier to take this on the surface level. With just a maximum of three games left in the NBA Finals, Foster might not even be assigned another game.

That said, the Thunder have been taxed with conspiracy theories all year about how the officials favor them on both sides of the floor. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets too many marginal calls and the league’s best defense gets away with being too physical.

Such comes with the territory of being the title favorite all season. The Thunder are the NBA’s top villain. While the social media world screams conspiracy, Carlisle thinks the opposite.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Rick Carlisle defends NBA referee Scott Foster from online criticisms