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The Toronto Raptors‘ season has ended after they were felled by the Chicago Bulls in a come-from-behind victory amid Wednesday night's play-in games.
Meanwhile, the Bulls will advance in the play-in tournament, facing the Miami Heat on Apr. 14.
The winner of that matchup will determine who the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks get to face in the first round of their matchup.
Obviously, the Raptors would have preferred to be on their way to South Beach for a competitive basketball game rather than to begin their vacation. But, as Toronto's fundamentals were lacking in the loss to Chicago, their up-and-down season came to a swift and perhaps merciful end.
In the process, Raptors forward Pascal Siakam shined under the bright lights.
As an All-Star-caliber player with just one season remaining on his deal with the 2023-24 season officially begins, Siakam's growth and limitations will soon be explored more than ever.
Finishing the game with a team-high 32 points, Spicy P also chipped in nine rebounds, six assists, and steal in 42 minutes.
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However, he also went 5-of-11 from the free-throw line. Three of his free-throw misses came in the fourth quarter as the Bulls outscored the Raptors by a 13-point margin.
Toronto's struggles at the charity stripe were half-jokingly attributed to the daughter of Bulls star DeMar DeRozan, a young child who could be heard screaming at the Raptors whenever they stepped to the line.
Nonetheless, Siakam tells reporters that the screaming had nothing to do with their free-throw struggles.
"I've got to be better than 5-for-11 from the line." – Pascal Siakam
He says he didn't think the screaming had anything to do with the struggles
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) April 13, 2023
That said, four of the Raptors starters missed at least three free-throws. They lost to the Bulls by four points.
As the saying goes, numbers don't lie.
