Scott Foster and Chris Paul are back at it.
The Golden State Warriors lost to the Phoenix Suns 123-115 at the Footprint Center on Wednesday night. Just before halftime, Paul got into a fight with a veteran NBA official and was given two fast technical fouls. He was then removed.
Soon after Paul was sent out, Suns coach Steve Kerr of the Warriors was also issued a technical foul, which resulted in five free throws and a 16-point advantage at the half.
With just 23 seconds remaining in the first half, Foster called a foul on Paul, sending Kevin Durant to the free throw line, which initially infuriated Paul. Paul, who has a lengthy professional relationship with Foster, didn’t mince words when they disagreed over the phone. Foster finally gave Paul two technical fouls and removed him from the game because he wouldn’t give up.
At that time, Paul used some very critical and inappropriate comments at Foster, which prompted Stephen Curry to intervene and keep the two apart.
Paul played 17 minutes and ended with six points and six assists. The Warriors had a really difficult quarter leading up to his dismissal. Phoenix jumped out to a 20-point lead in the third quarter as a result of holding them to just 16 points and five field goals collectively throughout that time.
After spending three years with the Suns, Paul joined the Warriors this past summer. In fact, Wednesday’s game was his first back in Phoenix since he parted ways with the team. The 38-year-old and Foster have a long-standing dispute that began with him just not being able to win postseason games that Foster was overseeing and eventually escalated into very visible taunts.