In a must-win NBA play-in game, the Toronto Raptors missed 18 of 36 free throws on Wednesday night, a season-high.
The team shot better than 78 per cent from the line during the season but converted just 50 per cent of its free throws in the 109-105 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
The Bulls, which are now home to Raptors legend DeMar DeRozan, were boosted in their efforts by DeRozan’s 9-year-old daughter Diar, who was seen — and heard — screaming throughout the game every time the Raptors stepped to the line.
“I kept hearing something during the game,” DeRozan told reporters after the game. “There was one free throw, somebody missed, and I looked back and I was like’Damn, that’s my daughter screaming.’ I was just making sure she was all right, though.”
Diar could also be heard screaming as Raptors star Pascal Siakam had a chance to tie the game with 12 seconds remaining. With the Raptors trailing 107-104, after the Bulls overcame a 19-point deficit, Siakam was fouled on a shot attempt and awarded three free throws. He hit the first and then clanked the next two as Diar could be heard over the broadcast.
DeRozan, who was drafted by the Raptors in 2009 and spent nine seasons with the club, told reporters after the game that it wasn’t originally in the plans for Diar to travel to Toronto but she insisted.
“My daughter called me the other day when she was getting out of school and she just said, ‘Dad, can I come to the Toronto game?'” he said. “I remember her going to all the Toronto games when she was a kid and I almost said no because she’s in school back home. But she kept asking. She was just adamant about coming to support and I said, ‘All right, you can miss one day of school and come to a game.'”
The loss ends Toronto’s season while Chicago now moves on to face the Miami Heat and another former Raptor in Kyle Lowry for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
As for Diar, despite the defensive boost she offered the team, DeRozan said she won’t be attending Friday’s game in Miami.
“No,” DeRozan said. “She’s got to go back to school.”
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