Bulls' roaring success worth shouting about

TORONTO — Diar DeRozan wanted to skip a day of school. Her father grudgingly went along with the plan.

Turns out, the decision was worth shouting about.

The 9-year-old daughter of Chicago guard DeMar DeRozan stole the show at the play-in tournament on Wednesday night with shrieks from the stands that went viral and quite possibly played a role in helping the Bulls defeat the Toronto Raptors 109-105 in an Eastern Conference elimination game.

Her earsplitting shouts would come when the Raptors — her dad's former team — were shooting free throws, and they were loud enough to even become a conversation point during the ESPN broadcast of the game. The Raptors finished 18 of 36 from the line in their season-ending loss, with six of their free-throw misses coming in the fourth quarter.

"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, 'Alright, you can miss one day of school and come to a game.'

"I'm glad I did," DeRozan said. "I owe her some money for sure."

The 18-for-36 showing was Toronto's worst of the season from the foul line.

"Not a great free-throw night for us in general," Toronto's Pascal Siakam said.

The Bulls advanced to face Miami on Friday night in a win-or-go-home game, with a chance to make the playoffs and face No 1 Milwaukee in Round 1 of the East playoffs starting Sunday.

Good news for the Heat: Diar's dad said she isn't going to Miami.

"No," DeRozan said. "She's got to go back to school."

LaVine shines

Zach LaVine scored 39 points, DeRozan had 23 against his former team and the Bulls overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Raptors.

Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, who trailed 66-47 in the third quarter before LaVine carried them back. He scored 17 points in the third as Chicago cut the gap to nine, then added 13 more in the fourth to help the Bulls advance.

Bulls coach Billy Donovan said LaVine was "phenomenal" against the Raptors.

"His performance was extraordinary," Donovan said. "It gave us life and it gave us hope."

The Bulls will visit the Miami Heat on Friday night for the chance to earn the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, and a first-round playoff matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Chicago went 3-0 against the Heat this season. The Bulls won in Miami twice, including on opening night.

"They're going to make adjustments. We are, too," LaVine said. "It's going to be whoever wants it more, so I think it comes down to that."

The Bulls shot 3 for 19 from 3-point range through the first three quarters but LaVine connected twice as Chicago made four of seven from distance in the fourth.

'Not consistent enough'

Fred VanVleet had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Pascal Siakam scored 32 points, but Toronto's season ended in disappointment thanks to in large part to their dismal 18 for 36 at the free-throw line. "I thought we played well enough to win tonight but it just didn't go our way," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.

Scottie Barnes had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, and OG Anunoby scored 13 points. Toronto didn't win three straight until January and never won more than four in a row in a season that struggled to generate any momentum.

"We're going to have to be better," Siakam said. "Not consistent enough and that's got to change."

Chicago's Alex Caruso connected from the corner to tie the score at 91-all with 7:08 left in the fourth quarter and Patrick Beverley's 3 with 5:07 remaining gave the Bulls a 96-93 lead. It was Beverley's first basket of the game.

VanVleet's 3 with 3:11 to go knotted it again at 100-all, but LaVine and DeRozan replied with baskets for the Bulls.

Barnes and Siakam each made one of two at the line inside the final two minutes, and VanVleet missed a 3 that would have tied the game.

Former NBA All-Star Charles Oakley, who played for both the Bulls and Raptors, sat in a courtside seat. Oakley wore a black hoodie with Toronto Raptors printed in gold letters on the back.

Agencies Via Xinhua