Up by 10, late in the third quarter. Up by seven, going into the fourth. The Indiana Pacers had a golden opportunity. And then, thud. A chance at a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals slipped right out of Indiana's hands on Friday night,

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

The Pacers scored just 17 points in the fourth quarter during their Game 4 loss to the Thunder Friday. The Indiana Pacers fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-104 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals Friday night, which evened the series at two games apiece as it heads back to Oklahoma.