NBA assigns Scott Foster to officiating crew for Game 5 of Warriors-Mavericks series

Veteran NBA official Scott Foster has been assigned as the crew chief for Game 5 of the Western Conference finals between the Warriors and Mavericks.

Foster, known to some NBA fans as “The Extender,” has earned the nickname because teams that are often trailing in a playoff series win games in which he is assigned as an official. The 28th-year official has worked 213 career playoff games and 22 NBA Finals games, including Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals between the Lakers and Celtics.

Foster will work alongside referee John Goble and umpire Curtis Blair. The replay center official for Thursday’s game is Sean Wright.

Foster’s most recent assignment came in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, when he was the crew chief for the Celtics-Heat game. The Heat led the series 2-1, but the Celtics won Game 4 102-82 and now hold a 3-2 series lead with chance to secure a NBA Finals berth on Friday.

One of the NBA’s most senior officials has worked several other playoff games this year, but he also missed time due to a non-COVID illness that made him a late scratch from Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Celtics and Bucks.

Teams trailing in a series aren’t undefeated when Foster is the crew chief, as evidenced by a few games he’s officiated earlier this postseason. In Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs between the Celtics and Nets, Boston completed a sweep of Brooklyn with Foster serving as the crew chief.

Foster also worked Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs between the Grizzlies and Timberwolves when Memphis secured a series win with a 114-106 win over Minnesota.

It appears the last Warriors game Foster worked during the postseason was on May 3, when the Grizzlies defeated the Warriors 106-101 in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. During that game, Memphis guard Dillon Brooks was ejected and called for a Flagrant 2 foul after wiping out Warriors guard Gary Payton II on a layup attempt.

The Warriors hold a 3-1 series lead over the Mavericks entering Thursday’s game at the Chase Center.