Warriors star Chris Paul was caught out calling referee Scott Foster a “bitch” after the veteran referee ejected the point guard in the first half of his return to Phoenix.
Paul, who spent three seasons with the Suns before signing with the Warriors, verbally expressed his displeasure to Foster after receiving a technical foul and in turn was quickly given a second one, which equates to an automatic ejection from the game.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr also received a subsequent technical for yelling at Foster.
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The Paul-Foster relationship is one that has been well-publicised, with the point guard in the midst of a 13-game playoff losing streak in matches where Foster was the head official.
Paul has been on the record criticising the referee in the past, sarcastically saying that Foster is who the fans “pay to see”.
“Some of them, you can [communicate] with. You’ve just gotta figure out who you can and you can’t,” Paul said in a post-match press conference in 2018.
The Suns would prove too good for the Warriors, winning 123-115. With the loss, Golden State dropped to 7-9.
LUKA’S CRAZY PASS BAMBOOZLES LEBRON AS AUSSIE ENJOYS BLISTERING FIRST HALF
Dallas star Luka Doncic provided one of the wildest plays of the young NBA season, threading a bounce pass between the legs of LeBron James during the Mavericks 104-101 win over the LA Lakers.
The pass would be received by Aussie Josh Green, who, even after bobbling the ball, hit a corner three.
Green enjoyed arguably his best game of the season, scoring 15 points, including 12 in the first half.
But no bucket was as impressive as that three-pointer, with the degree of difficulty of Doncic’s assist unmeasurable.
Green’s Australian teammate Dante Exum saw nine minutes of court time in the Mavs win, scoring four points off the bench.
Doncic finished the game with a near triple double (30 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists), while LeBron continued his strong season with 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
AUSSIE JOE SHINES AS MAGIC UPSET DEFENDING CHAMPS
A day after fooling several defenders with a savvy move in Orlando’s big win over the Raptors, Joe Ingles and the in-form Magic were back at it again, this time with the much stiffer assignment of the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Ingles has had quite the impact as a veteran presence for this young Magic team in more ways than one. Against the Nuggets, he was going to have to contribute heavily off the bench for Orlando to stick with them.
He certainly did that, scoring 12 points on a perfect 4/4 shooting to go with seven assists as the Magic mounted a fourth-quarter comeback to down the Nuggets 124-119.
Showing off a range of silky smooth skills, pinpoint passing and stout defence, Ingles did it all, recording a team high plus/minus of 9.
Ingles now has a plus/minus figure of 75 for the season, which puts him in the top 30 in the league in that category. That’s pretty good going considering his limited minutes off the bench.
Denver’s star big Nikola Jokic was keen to redeem himself after getting ejected in the Nuggets last game, and he did that with a huge 30-point triple double.
The Magic were down by nine points in the fourth quarter, but were able to rally and record their tenth win of the season.
YOUNG STEALS THE SHOW IN EPIC OVERTIME DISPLAY
Trae Young made up for missing what would have been a game-winning free throw at the end of the fourth quarter, by scoring 14 of his team’s 16 points in the ensuing overtime period in the Hawks 147-145 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Young finished the game with 43 points, but he came alive in overtime, taking the game on and seemingly hitting everything. It was a sensational scoring outburst by one of the league’s best attacking guards.
He was engaged in a dual with Nets guard Mikal Bridges, who had 45 points and ten rebounds.
It was essentially a game of one-on-one between Young and Bridges in overtime, with the two players exchanging buckets in an entertaining contest.
While Atlanta possess one of the most potent offences in the NBA, they sort of have to considering their poor defence.
Against the Pacers on Wednesday (AEDT), the Hawks conceded 157 points before letting the Nets put 145 on them just 24 hours later.
In any case, the victory over the Nets is a win the Hawks will take, as it stopped a three-game losing streak.
NBA Wrap: Lebron’s record points haul | 02:03
CELTICS SURVIVE BUCKS’ LATE COMEBACK IN BATTLE OF EASTERN CONFERENCE HEAVYWEIGHTS
Despite leading by as much as 20 points at home, the Celtics only narrowly scraped home to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 119-116 at TD Garden, extending their margin at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
The Celtics looked to be cruising throughout the second and third quarters, before Milwaukee rallied in the fourth to get within three points after a Damian Lillard triple with 44 seconds remaining.
However, the Celtics would hold their nerve in the final minute and move to 12-3 on the season, while the Bucks (10-5) dropped back to be two games behind Boston in the East.
Boston’s big three of Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and Jayson Tatum, who was in doubt to play because of illness, all had strong outings.
NBA SCORES NOVEMBER 23
Wizards 114 @ Hornets 117
Nuggets 119 @ Magic 124
Bucks 116 @ Celtics 119
Heat 129 @ Cavaliers 96
Raptors 132 @ Pacers 131
Nets 145 @ Hawks 147 (OT)
Grizzlies 91 @ Rockets 111
76ers 99 @ Timberwolves 112
Kings 112 @ Pelicans 117
Clippers 109 @ Spurs 102
Bulls 102 @ Thunder 116
Warriors 115 @ Suns 123
Mavericks 104 @ Lakers 101
Jazz 105 @ Trail Blazers 121
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