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Scott Foster Hijacks the Spotlight with Absurd Calls in Wolves Thriller

The Wolves overcame a ton of adversity in a record-setting comeback, including a terrible night of officiating by referee Scott Foster.
Scott Foster during the Wolves-Rockets game on Wednesday night.
Scott Foster during the Wolves-Rockets game on Wednesday night. | FanDuel Sports Network North

"Scott Foster's at it again."

Truer words have never been spoken by Timberwolves play-by-play announcer Alan Horton, who was dumbfounded when Foster upheld a charging call on Naz Reid and then promptly issued Reid a technical foul and ejected him in overtime during Minnesota's record-breaking come-from-behind victory against the Rockets on Wednesday night.

What did Naz do to get tossed? We aren't trained lip readers, but it appeared that Reid, after the call on the floor was upheld, looked at Foster and said, "Stop that s***, bro. He's moving."

That was just one of the absurd moments during the chaotic game, which saw the Wolves blow an 11-point lead with four minutes left in the fourth quarter, and then rally from 13 points down in overtime to win 110-108. Head coach Chris Finch thought the game never should've gone to overtime.

"We should've won that game in regulation. We deserved to win that game. We were the better team all night. We gave them a chance to steal it from us, but we stole it right back," Finch said.

Finch was upset that Julius Randle didn't get a whistle when he drove to the basket as time expired in the fourth quarter. Alperen Sengun wound up blocking his shot, but Finch thought there was a missed foul before the block.

"This game should've ended at regulation. Julius clearly gets fouled on the gather at the end of regulation, and guys were certainly frustrated," Finch said. "We took 63 shots in the paint, and we went to the line 10 times. (Kevin) Durant goes to the line 12 times himself."

Houston was called for 15 fouls compared to 23 on the Wolves, and the Rockets went 23-of-25 at the free-throw line while Minnesota finished 7-of-10 at the charity stripe.

Foster also called a very questionable flagrant foul on Randle when he collided with Sengun late in the fourth quarter. Sengun took the worst of the collision, but there didn't appear to be any malicious intent from Randle.

"Never seen it before. I've never seen it before. They're telling me he had a clear opportunity to avoid the screen. (Foster) said he sought him out to run him over," Finch, stunned by the call, said after the game. "He's going through a screen, and they call a foul. Clearly a foul. Play on. But flagrant? I don't know."

Minnesota's best player was arguably Jaden McDaniels, who wound up leaving the game with a cramp after, as Finch said, having to battle "through a bunch of illegal screens" while guarding Durant all night.

"Just not worry about the refs and just going to play," McDaniels said when asked about overcoming adversity. "And then you seen we weren't worried about them in overtime, and we came back and won."

Rudy Gobert wound up fouling out of the game after a huge game with 14 points, 14 rebounds (7 offensive boards), and five blocks. With a history of getting fined for criticizing the officials, Gobert could only smirk with wide eyes when a reporter asked him in the locker room about the foul discrepancy.

"We just try to believe in the basketball gods. Just keep trying to compete. Play winning basketball and control what we can control," said Gobert.

"Lots of adversity in a lot of ways, and we overcame it," Gobert added.

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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Joe Nelson has more than 20 years of experience in Minnesota sports journalism. Nelson began his career in sports radio, working at smaller stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before moving to the highly-rated KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. While there, he produced the popular mid-morning show hosted by Minnesota Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen. His time in radio laid the groundwork for his transition to sports writing in 2011. He covers the Vikings, Timberwolves, Gophers and Twins for On SI.

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