Referee Scott Foster was left with a bloody lip after taking an inadvertent hit from LeBron James during Saturday’s Game 3 between the Lakers and Nuggets.
Foster, who appeared to be bleeding from a cut around his mouth, was briefly attended to after the incident in the first half.
When James came up to apologize to the longtime NBA official after the accidental contact, Foster hit him with a hilarious and unexpected joke.
“You’ve been wanting to do that for 25 years,” Foster joked to James while tending to his injury.
Los Angeles forward Austin Reaves could also be heard telling Foster in jest that James should be issued a technical foul.
“You’ve been wanting to do that for 25 years.”
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 21, 2023
Scott Foster to LeBron James after Foster was left bloodied after taking a shot from LeBron 🤣pic.twitter.com/TDUn4wvNPM
The incident occurred near the end of the second quarter. Foster, who was the crew chief for Game 3 on Saturday night, was able to officiate the remainder of the game after laughing off the pain of his bloody lip while joking with LeBron.
The Lakers were defeated, 119–108, and now find themselves trailing 3–0 in the Western Conference Finals against Denver. It was their first loss on their home court in the playoffs, as they face a series deficit that’s proven to be insurmountable throughout NBA history.
Game 4 is set for Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Los Angeles.
