Scott Foster leading officiating crew for Game 3 of Wolves-Warriors

Longtime official Scott Foster will serve as the crew chief for Game 2 of the Minnesota Timberwolves' Western Conference semifinal series against the Golden State Warriors Saturday night at Chase Center in San Francisco.

It'll be Foster leading the officiating crew, which will feature David Guthrie as the other referee, Mitchell Ervin as the umpire and Karl Lane as an alternate. Foster, a well-known official who's picked up the nickname "The Extender" as teams trailing in a playoff series have often won games he's officiated, made his postseason debut Wednesday for Game 2 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets in the other West semifinal. Foster missed the first round with a calf injury.

The series shifts to San Francisco Saturday night after the Wolves and Warriors split the first two games of the series in Minneapolis. Minnesota is a 5.5-point favorite for the game, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Wolves were the favorites for the series coming in and became even heavier favorites after Warriors star Steph Curry suffered a hamstring strain that kept him out of Game 2 and likely well beyond. Golden State ruled out Curry again for Saturday's Game 3.

Aside from the injury to Curry, the two teams are relatively healthy. Anthony Edwards was not on the injury report after suffering an ankle sprain in Game 2, and Rob Dillingham, who's been out the entire playoffs with a right ankle sprain, is the only player with a designation, though his status has been upgraded to questionable. Gary Payton II is the only other player listed on the Warriors' injury report, but only because he'll wear a splint on his left thumb. He is available Saturday.

The Wolves and Warriors tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT at Chase Center. The game will be televised on ESPN and ABC.

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