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NBA referee assignment: All officials for Game 1 of 2024 playoffs revealed

The NBA playoffs are here and teams from both conferences are ready to face each other in Game 1 of the opening round. Eight teams are contesting today. Ahead of the schedule, the league has released the list of NBA referees for today's games.

For Game 1 of the opening round between the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks, Brian Forte has been handed over the referee assignment. Mark Lindsay will officiate Game 1 between the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In the Western Conference, Mitchell Ervin has been assigned the referee job for Game 1 between the LA Lakers and the Denver Nuggets for the opening round. On the other hand, in the same conference, for the game between the Phoenix Suns and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Ben Taylor has been assigned the referee's responsibility.

Here is the list of all officials for each Game 1 in the opening round of the 2023-24 playoffs.

GameCrew Chief Referee UmpireAlternate
Philadelphia 76ers vs New York KnicksScott Foster (#48)Brian Forte (#45)Sean Corbin (#33)John Butler (#30)
Orlando Magic vs Cleveland CavaliersJames Williams (#60) Mark Lindsay (#29) Pat Fraher (#26)Jacyn Goble (#68)
LA Lakers vs Denver NuggetsJohn Goble (#10) Mitchell Ervin (#27) Nick Buchert (#3)Eric Dalen (#37)
Phoenix Suns vs Minnesota TimberwolvesMarc Davis (#8) Ben Taylor (#46) Aaron Smith (#51)Ashley Moyer-Gleich (#13)

The league picks top officials with the best record in the regular season to officiate the games in the playoffs. Usually, during the playoffs, the league updates the names of all the officials for all the games around 9:00 am ET on each game day.

NBA referee Scott Foster to officiate Knicks vs 76ers Game 1

The Philadelphia 76ers are set to go against the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the opening round of the playoffs. With Joel Embiid returning from the injury, the game is set to be very close, and the league has assigned Scott Foster as the Crew Chief.

Foster has also officiated the NBA Finals, most notably the Game 7 of the 2010 Finals between the LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics.

Brian Forte has been named the referee for the game between the Sixers and the Knicks. For all the opening games in the playoffs, Curtis Blair and Gediminas Petraitis will handle the Replay Center.

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