LeBron Bumps, Bloodies Referee Scott Foster In Game 3

It's official, NBA referees are the toughest guys on the court. Exhibit A: Scott Foster, who was trucked by LeBron James to the point of drawing blood.

And yet he stayed in the game.

It happened late in the first half of Game 3 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets. The Lakers inbounded the ball after a Nuggets basket. However, as LeBron turned to run upcourt he didn't check to make sure the coast was clear and ran directly into Foster.

Here it is again, in slow motion and from a different angle:

First and foremost, credit to LeBron for not going down after that. I guess there's no sense in flopping when the guy you ran into is the one who calls the fouls.

While that bump didn't look like too much at regular speed, peep the aftermath.

Damn, Scott! He looks like he just drew a four-minute high-sticking minor.

Had that happened to the vast majority of NBA players they'd be done for the game, and possibly the season. Anthony Davis would need a wheelchair — possibly a backboard — to get to the locker room after that one.

Not Scott Foster, he was staying in the game. No matter how many people can't stand him.

He may not be everyone's favorite official, but the man could teach some players a thing or two about toughness, especially in the playoffs.

Follow on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle