Chris Paul restrained by Steph Curry during wild on-court ejection as NBA star ignites ‘personal’ feud with official
GOLDEN State Warriors star Chris Paul has been ejected following a wild on-court altercation with NBA official Scott Foster.
The 38-year-old was tossed during the second quarter of the Warriors 123-115 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.
Paul got into a heated argument with Foster with just 20 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Golden State guard was whistled for a blocking foul on Suns star Kevin Durant, who headed to the free-throw line.
A fuming Paul disagreed with the call, getting into a discussion with Foster as Durant sunk his first bucket from the line.
And moments later Paul was thrown from the game after appearing to aim an expletive in Foster's direction.
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Per the New York Post, the 12-time All-Star appeared to shout: "You're a b***h."
After receiving his second technical, Paul walked toward Foster to continue his verbal barrage.
But he was restrained by teammate Steph Curry, who grabbed the guard by the arm and pulled him back.
Paul and Foster have a long history, with the NBA veteran describing their feud as "personal."
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The former Suns star has complained about Foster's officiating for over a decade - and indicated there had also been an incident involving his son.
Per CBS Sports, Paul said: "It’s personal. We had a situation some years ago and it’s personal.
"The league knows, everybody knows. There’s been a meeting and all that. It’s just a situation with my son.
"I’m OK with a ref saying whatever - just don’t use a [technical foul] to get your point across.
“I’ve got to do a better job of making sure I’m staying on the floor for my teammates, but that’s that."
Paul lost 13 straight playoff games in which Foster officiated before breaking the streak in the first round last season.
It was however the first time that Foster has ejected Paul from a game.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr came to Paul's defense following Wednesday's on-court drama.
Kerr told reporters: "I didn’t think Chris deserved to be ejected.
"The first tech? Absolutely. But I thought the second one was unnecessary.
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"Everybody gets frustrated out there, but that’s up to the official."
The loss takes the Warriors to 7-9 on the NBA season, while the Suns improve to 9-6.