DeMar DeRozan’s daughter won’t attend Bulls’ do-or-die vs Heat amid viral screams

The Chicago Bulls’ adorable, unsung heroine who influenced the Toronto Raptors’ disastrous showing from the free throw line en route to their 109-105 Play-In defeat sadly won’t be present in South Beach this Friday.

Speaking in the postgame, star swingman DeMar DeRozan told reporters that his daughter, Diar, won’t be attending their sudden death showdown with the Miami Heat for the right to seal the last playoff spot of the Eastern Conference bracket.

“No, she’s got to go back to school,” DeRozan said with a smile.

Diar made headlines this Wednesday after she was caught in the stands performing ear-splitting screams in all of the Raptors’ 36 trips to the stripe. Toronto caught a cold snap and seemed affected by DeRozan’s daughter, draining a horrible 50 percent of their total attempts (18-for-36).

Throughout the 2022-23 regular season, the Raptors were ranked 17th in free throw shooting percentage, tallying a collective 78.4 percent efficiency out of 23.4 attempts average per game that ranks 18th on the other hand.

Toronto’s embarrassing 18-missed free throw showing within the Scotiabank Arena becomes the most missed foul shots in a winner-take-all or play-in game since the L.A. Lakers missed 19 in Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals (h/t ESPN Stats & Info)

DeRozan noted that his daughter insisted on coming and supporting them on their Play-In game in Toronto, despite the fact that she will miss a day of her class.

As such, it turned out that Diar ultimately aided them in becoming the first 10th-seeded team to nail a win in the four-year history of the league’s Play-In Tournament.

“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?’” DeRozan added, who contributed with 23 points and seven assists on the must-win match. “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.’

“I’m glad I did. I owe her some money for sure.”