Jimmy Butler's Record in Scott Foster games: How Heat superstar fares against maligned NBA referee
Jimmy Butler's legacy will likely be decided in Game 7 against the Boston Celtics. The Miami Heat will play the deciding game of the series on Monday night, and the winner will advance to the 2023 NBA Finals.
Scott Foster, a controversial NBA referee, will be the crew chief. Foster, nicknamed "The Extender," has officiated 15 Heat games over the past two seasons, including the 2022 Eastern Conference finals against the Celtics.
Unfortunately for Miami, Jimmy Butler's record in Scott Foster games is awful. However, the six-time All-Star will try to change it on Monday night and advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in his career.
Jimmy Butler has just one win in Scott Foster games this season
Scott Foster has officiated eight Miami Heat games in the 2022-23 season. Five of these games took place in the regular season, while the controversial referee was assigned to three Heat games in the playoffs.
The Heat are 1-7 in Scott Foster games this season. However, Jimmy Butler didn't play in all of these games, and his personal record against Foster is 1-4. The only victory he had was in Game 6 of the second round against the New York Knicks.
Here are all the five games that Foster officiated and Butler played in:
- vs. Boston Celtics (Oct. 21) - 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 7-point loss
- at Memphis Grizzlies (Dec. 5) - 18 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 8-point loss
- at Brooklyn Nets (Feb. 15) - 13 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 11-point loss
- vs. New York Knicks (May 12) - 24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4-point win
- vs. Boston Celtics (May 23) - 29 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 17-point loss
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To make the situation worse, Foster was assigned as a referee for two games of last year's Eastern Conference finals between Miami and Boston. The Heat lost both of these games.
Butler had only six points in a 20-point Game 4 loss to the Celtics in the 2023 playoffs, but he bounced back with a 35-point performance in Game 7. However, this wasn't enough to beat Boston.
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Game 7 of the 2023 Eastern Conference finals begins at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. If the Celtics beat the Heat, they will become the only team in NBA history to win a series after trailing 0-3.