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EAT MORE CHIKIN — Not all winners on the finale of the NBA's 2023-24 regular season clinched a playoff bid, or even a berth in this week's Play-in Tournament.
Take Houston center Boban Marjanović, for example.
The Rockets big man didn't have his team in a late charge for postseason contention during a 116-105 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. But with 4:44 remaining at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Marjanović had a chance to send the host fans home happy.
The 7-foot, 4-inch center missed a free throw in the closing moments while his team led by multiple possessions. When Marjanović — a career 76.4% free-throw shooter — saw the crowd going wild over an in-arena promotion that promises free chicken if an opposing player misses consecutive foul shots, he knew what he had to do.
Boban.
— NBA (@NBA) April 15, 2024
Man of the people. 🍗 pic.twitter.com/PRq6xIXxIW
After bricking his second free throw off the left side of the rim, Marjanović acknowledged the crowd with a thumbs' up, saying "I got you" as Clippers fans went home with their own "win" of the night for a fanbase whose team was already locked into the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
"He's a man of the people," the Clippers' broadcast crew yelled as the Serbian international continued to point toward the crowd. "He gave out free chicken."
Marjanović — who played with the Clippers from 2018-19 — finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. According to Clippers PR, it was the seventh time this season the fans received free chicken as part of the team's "Eat Mor Chikin" campaign with Chick-fil-A.