Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle offered an impassioned and somewhat unprompted defense of referee Scott Foster, evidently aware of mountains of online criticism.

Indiana coach Rick Carlisle offered an impassioned and somewhat unprompted defense of referee Scott Foster on Sunday, evidently aware of the mountains of online criticism that came after Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle is having none of it. He spent a part of his Sunday NBA Finals media availability defending Foster. He had a similar moment earlier in the championship series when ESPN's Doris Burke was heavily criticized for her commentary.