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Watch: Russell Westbrook gets heated with notorious ref Scott Foster in Game 2

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated May 7, 2025 11:11 PM ET

Russell Westbrook and Scott Foster had a very on-brand interaction during Wednesday’s Game 2.

The Denver Nuggets guard Westbrook went viral in the second-round playoff game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, O.K. over his heated moment with the veteran NBA referee Foster. Westbrook took exception in the first quarter to a foul by Thunder big Jaylin Williams on Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.

After charging in to confront and bump Williams immediately following the foul on Jokic, Westbrook was issued a technical foul by Foster. Here is the video.

Russ exchanged words with Jaylin Williams after his hard foul on Jokic

Refs gave him a tech pic.twitter.com/aLZar4ywnk
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 8, 2025

Westbrook vehemently disagreed with the technical foul called on him, especially since no one on the Thunder received a technical foul over the same sequence. The TNT broadcast showed Westbrook getting extremely animated with Foster and making a series of angry gestures.

Russell Westbrook got super heated with Scott Foster over a technical that was given

This discussion continues for over a minute, which had Russ pointing fingers at the notorious referee… WOW.pic.twitter.com/rOr8p8j2RP
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) May 8, 2025

The former MVP Westbrook is known as one of the most passionate (and also confrontational) players in the NBA. Meanwhile, Foster (who was actually making his return to refereeing on Wednesday after missing extended time due to an injury) is known for his quick trigger when it comes to handing out technical fouls.

With his smoke for Williams, Westbrook may have been trying to inject some life into his team as they were already down 20 at the time in just the first quarter. But nothing was ultimately saving the Nuggets in that first half as they went on to face a miserable 87-56 deficit by halftime (with the Thunder setting an all-time record for points scored in a playoff half).

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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