Wednesday night's play-in matchup between the Chicago Bulls and the Toronto Raptors was a real nail-biter. With nine minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Raptors held a comfortable 19-point lead — but the Bulls suddenly rallied and pulled off a ferocious second-half comeback to beat Toronto by a mere four points, with a final score 109-105. And there was one young fan in the stands who was really feeling the tension of the on-court action: Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan's daughter.
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Diar, 9, was caught on camera reacting to the game in a dramatic way
According to NPR, DeMar's daughter requested to be allowed to skip school and accompany her dad to Toronto to watch the Bulls take on the Raptors. (She was evidently feeling a bit nostalgic, since DeMar spent the first nine years of his NBA career playing for the Raptors).
As things were beginning to look bleak for her dad's team — with a nearly 20-point lead, it seemed Toronto had it in the bag — loud screaming could be heard from the crowd.
The game went into free throws, and the camera alighted on the source of the noise: Diar
During each of the Raptors' throws, she was captured letting out a high-pitched shriek as the ball was being released. Clearly, she was invested and the tension was getting to her. And now, some are crediting her with helping her dad's team pull off their stunning win.
The Raptors ended up missing 18 out of 36 free throws as the home team
This ultimately allowed the Bulls to cruise to a comeback victory. According to ESPN, it was the Raptors' worst free throw performance of the season, and the most misses in a playoffs elimination game since 1969.
DeMar was shocked to discover it was his daughter's screams echoing throughout the Scotiabank Arena
"I kept hearing something during the game during free throws," he said after the game, reported ESPN. "I looked back like … dang, that's my daughter screaming."
Now, Diar is being hailed as the Bulls' secret weapon on Wednesday night. And to think DeMar almost didn't allow her to come.
"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."
This isn't the first time Diar has made headlines for her behavior in the stands
During a game last season, Diar and her sister, Mari, were caught on camera adorably mimicking their dad's free throw routine. Something tells us that little Diar could have a future career as a sports analyst.
But in the meantime, she'll have to settle for a job as DeMar's biggest fan — though it sounds like she'll be catching his next game on TV rather than live. When DeMar was asked if Diar will be attending Friday night's Bulls' game against the Miami Heat, he jokingly said, "No. She's got to go back to school."
