After the Chicago Bulls beat the Toronto Raptors 109-105 in the NBA playoffs, DeMar DeRozan praised his daughter Tiar and her free-throw “defense.” “She’s gone viral,” DeRozan said after the game. Here’s why:
- The Raptors missed 18 of their 36 free-throw attempts during Wednesday’s game in Toronto.
- Every time the Raptors went to the line, the entire arena was filled with screeching tires.
- OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet — who shot 84, 77 and 90 percent from the line on the year, respectively — missed 14 free throws.
What are they saying?
“I was listening to something during the game,” DeRozan told reporters.
“There was a free throw and somebody missed and I looked back and I was like, oh, is that my daughter screaming? I made sure she was okay though,” he said with a laugh.
DeRozan said Dyer missed school to attend Wednesday night’s game in Toronto.
“I said you could skip school for a day and come to the game…I’m glad I did.”
Backstory
The Raptors led by 19 points (66-47) with 9:09 left in the third quarter. The Bulls outscored the Raptors 37-24 in the fourth quarter en route to overcoming a 19-point deficit. Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 39 points and DeRozan had 23 points.
The Bulls face the Miami Heat on Friday, with a chance to qualify for the NBA playoffs, while Toronto is eliminated from the postseason.
Required reading
(Photo: Andrew Lahotinsky/Getty Images)
