The Toronto Raptors acquired Brandon Ingram in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans nine months ago. The veteran small forward is delivering the impact they envisioned when making the deal.
Ingram and the Raptors will look to continue their hot stretch on Thursday when they visit Cleveland for the second time in a two-week span. Toronto beat the Cavaliers 112-101 in the NBA Cup opener for both teams on Oct. 31.
That victory was the catalyst for the Raptors winning five times in their past six games to move above .500 for the initial time this season. Ingram has been the driving force, as he is averaging 21.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists on the season.
“I definitely got a couple more (gears) to go,” said Ingram, who missed the final four months last season with a left ankle sprain. He finally made his Raptors debut last month.
“Coming off this injury, I haven’t got my explosiveness back, but my teammates are making it easier for me. Hopefully, as I keep playing, I will get that back.”
Ingram has scored at least 20 points eight times in 11 games with his new club, including a 25-point performance on Tuesday in a 119-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets in New York. He made more headlines by greeting his girlfriend, popular rapper GloRilla, who was seated courtside.
It was much better publicity than the 10th-year pro received in Toronto’s previous contest on Saturday. Ingram was fined $25,000 by the NBA for spiking his water bottle, which subsequently struck a game attendant, during the Raptors’ 130-120 road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Raptors’ defense held Brooklyn to 39.5% field-goal shooting, and Toronto wound up with a 50-36 rebounding edge. Scottie Barnes grabbed 11 rebounds for the Raptors, and Jakob Poeltl had 12 points and 10 boards in his return from a one-game absence caused by a lower back injury.
“Jakob is doing great, but when you’re 7-feet tall, it’s not easy to have extra pop,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “He’s still finding his reconditioning. I think he did pretty well.”
The Cavaliers are returning home after splitting back-to-back road games against the Miami Heat. Cleveland rallied for a 130-116 win on Wednesday despite resting both reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley and All-Star Donovan Mitchell.
Jarrett Allen logged 30 points and 10 rebounds, powering the charge as Cleveland hit Miami with a 41-14 run that turned a 94-84 deficit into a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter.
“J.A., he’s just J.A., you’ve got to love the guy,” Cavaliers point guard Craig Porter Jr. said. “He’s selfless and gives it his all every night.”
Porter was terrific off the bench, producing 19 points, nine assists, three steals and a career-high four blocked shots. Those contributions were big, as All-Star point guard Darius Garland was sidelined after re-injuring his left big toe on Monday in the Cavaliers’ 140-138 overtime loss to the Heat.
Garland, who missed the first seven games of the season after undergoing surgery on the same toe in June, was hurt when he became entangled with Miami forward Nikola Jovic on a drive to the basket. Cavaliers officials said they would update his status “as appropriate.”
Swingman Jaylon Tyson also is out indefinitely after sustaining a concussion in the first game at Miami.
“We felt like we had a lot of depth, so we never had a doubt,” Porter said. “Like (coach Kenny Atkinson) said, we’ve got 15 guys we pay on this team, and we’re paying them for a reason.”
