The Toronto Raptors are currently playing home games at Scotiabank Arena without fans due to local health regulations as the omicron COVID-19 variant surge continues.
The absence of fans, however, does not mean the absence of mascots in Toronto. And the presence of the Raptors’ mascot created quite a stir late in the Phoenix Suns’ 99-95 win over Toronto on Tuesday night.
With the Suns up one with 6.5 seconds remaining, Devin Booker was fouled. Booker hit both of the free throws to help seal his team’s victory, but not without incident.
An angry Booker asked the officiating crew to relocate the Raptors mascot between free throw attempts and the referees obliged, moving the red dinosaur from his spot behind the basket to the corner of the court.
“We hashed it out. We homies now,” Booker said after the game. “We’re cool now, though.”
The Suns win snapped the Raptors’ longest winning streak of the season at six games. The Suns, meanwhile, improved to 31-9, matching the franchise’s best…