Is DeMar Derozan a dirty player? That’s what Miami Heat fans are trying to say after the Sacramento Kings sent sophomore Pelle Larsson flying with a heat above the shoulder during their Tuesday encounter at the Golden 1 Center.
The incident occurred in the last 1:40 minutes of the game when the Heat basically had the win lock through their 12-point lead. Larsson received the ball from the left side while they were on a transition for a fastbreak and Derozan decided to give him a hard foul.
DeMar DeRozan hits Pelle Larsson in the neck and head area while going for the ball during Pelle’s fastbreak layup attempt late in the 4th quarter (with replays).
Upon review, it was upgraded to a flagrant penalty-1.
Wondering if the arena workers intentionally put ABBA in the… pic.twitter.com/arPGqWlkdS
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) January 21, 2026
This led to commotion as several Miami players tried to stop them from having a confrontation. Derozan and Bam Adebayo even exchanged words. In the end, the referees decided to give him a Flagrant-1 foul.
Kings lost the game, 117-130. Derozan finished the game with 23 points and he had the game worst -19 in plus/minus.
DeMar Derozan was just frustrated
Kings had to chase the Heat all throughout the game. Their coach, Doug Christie, thinks the play was just an accumulation of all the things going wrong for them the whole night.
“I think more than anything, Demar is, he’s a high level scorer, obviously, and the bumping and the holding — slapping on the arms, when it’s not called it can be a little frustrating so I think we’re seeing a little bit of that. Also he wants to win,” Christie told reporters after the game.
The coach added that he sees it as a positive action from his point of view.
“I appreciate that. We have to make sure that we take pride in what it is that we’re out there doing. There’s a spirit and joy to what we’re doing.”
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