DeMar DeRozan discusses not playing in the 4th quarter of Toronto's Game 3 loss

BarDown Staff

ESPN

Raptors fans were left wondering where DeMar DeRozan was in the 4th quarter and why he didn't play a single minute in the final frame. After the game, DeRozan talked about being benched in the 4th quarter.

It was a tough night for #DeMarDeRozan, but #DwaneCasey is confident he’ll bounce back in Game 4.

A post shared by TSN (@tsn_official) on May 5, 2018 at 9:28pm PDT

DeMar struggled in Game 3 as he scored 8 points on 3-12 shooting. As Dwane Casey explained, though, he's a professional and he's confident he'll bounce back in Game 4.

Dwane Casey on DeMar DeRozan: "He wasn't the reason why we lost" pic.twitter.com/AxT6A0C8Pv
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 6, 2018

DeRozan's partner in crime Kyle Lowry also chimed in on DeRozan not playing in the 4th and his reasoning made a lot of sense.

Raptors' Kyle Lowry on DeMar DeRozan's benching: "We had a group going in the fourth and coach road with it. I'm not worried about it. A tough shooting night. DeMar was up cheering with everybody else. He's a great teammate. He was't pouting or anything." pic.twitter.com/dY8uwPWJf7
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 6, 2018

Even though he wanted more than anything to play in the 4th, DeRozan supported his teammates the entire way and that's all that matters at the end of the day.

He's a great teammates and the Raptors, along with their fans, have all the faith in the world that he'll bounce back for Game 4 as Toronto attempts to do something no other NBA has done.

129 NBA teams have trailed 3-0 in a best-of-7 playoff series. None of them have come back to win. If you're expecting the Raptors to do something that's never been done before against one of the greatest players to ever play... don't.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 6, 2018

(H/T: Josh Lewenberg)