Pacers' Rick Carlisle Makes Eye Opening Comments on Officials Ahead of NBA Finals Game 5 originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder found themselves deadlocked at two wins apiece heading into Monday night's 8:30 p.m. tip-off at the Paycom Center in OKC.

Pacers fans laid some of the blame for Indiana's Game 4 loss at the feet of Scott Foster, but Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stood up for him Sunday.

Scott Foster may be the NBA's only active celebrity referee. The official's poor reputation with players—they voted him the league's worst referee in a 2023 poll taken by The Athletic—has won him a kind of cult notoriety.