A Bulls fan screaming during Raptors players’ free throws Wednesday night caught many people’s attention after Toronto missed 18 shots at the line and lost after a dramatic comeback by Chicago. The unsung hero of the Bulls’ play-in tournament game was later revealed to be Diar DeRozan, daughter of star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan.
At first, it was just the noise that many fans noticed, an extremely distinctive scream that was repeatedly picked up my broadcast mics around the court. When it became clear that the scream was affecting the Raptors, who shot horrendously from the charity stripe, DeRozan began to look around and realized who it was.
“I kept hearing something during the game during free throws,” DeRozan said after the game. “I looked back like … dang, that’s my daughter screaming.”
DeRozan went on to explain that his daughter talked her way out of school to go to the game. Aided slightly by her heckling antics, the Bulls mounted a dramatic 19-point comeback in the late stages to win 109-105. DeRozan scored 23 points in the contest.
“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 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.’ I’m glad I did. I owe her some money for sure.”
With the victory, the Bulls will advance to the next stage of the play-in tournament and play the Miami Heat for the right to enter the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. DeRozan said that Diar will be in school for the team’s next start, regardless of her impact on the floor.
