Indiana Pacers Fall To Toronto Raptors On Last Second Shot
You wanted the game-winner between the Pacers and Raptors? You got the game-winner. Brandon Ingram, with the ice in his veins, decided this basketball game was his to take, and Pascal Siakam was just the poor soul standing in his way.
With the clock bleeding out and the score knotted at 95, Ingram went to work. It was a classic isolation play, the kind of moment that separates the good from the great. Ingram sized up Siakam, who was probably sweating more than a guy in a sauna wearing a snowsuit, knowing he was one whistle away from fouling out.
“I knew he was in foul trouble, and I knew he didn’t want to be overly aggressive, so he was at my mercy at that point,” Ingram said, with the cool confidence of a man who just hit the jackpot. He drove, he pulled up, and he splashed a 14-foot jumper with a measly 0.6 seconds left. Ballgame. The Scotiabank Arena erupted. The Raptors win, 97-95.
The Pacers called a timeout, drew up a prayer, and sent it skyward with Bennedict Mathurin. It banked, it clanked, and it was no good. The Raptors’ win streak just hit nine games, and they are looking like the real deal in the East.
How Did We Get Here With The Pacers And Raptors?
This wasn’t some pretty, highlight-reel waltz to victory. This was a gritty, down-and-dirty street fight. The Raptors shot a miserable 5-for-26 from three-point land. That’s 19.2 percent for you mathletes at home. For a team that usually shoots the lights out and ranks sixth in the NBA, it was like watching Steph Curry take free throws with a blindfold on.
But here’s the thing about good teams: they find ways to win ugly. “You have to win in different ways,” a pragmatic Immanuel Quickley said after the game. “You’ve got to win when you don’t shoot well… You can always play defense. You can always bring energy, effort, and that’s what we did tonight.”
And they needed every ounce of it. Scottie Barnes was a beast, putting up a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds, doing all the dirty work that doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet but is absolutely crucial for a win.
The In-Season Tournament Hype is Real
This victory wasn’t just another notch in the win column as it clinched the Raptors a top-two seed and home-court advantage in the quarterfinals of the inaugural NBA Cup. While head coach Darko Rajakovic and his star player are downplaying the nine-game streak, you can tell this tournament has added a little extra juice to the regular season grind.
“It builds confidence,” Ingram admitted. “It’s kind of sort of an early playoff game, trying to battle for something. It’s all experience for what we want.” And what they want, clearly, is to be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time. These early high-stakes games are the perfect dress rehearsal.
Injuries Piling Up
It wasn’t all sunshine and game-winners for Toronto, though. The injury bug is starting to bite. Rookie Gradey Dick went down hard in the first quarter against the Pacers and didn’t return, landing himself in concussion protocol. Adding to the woes, the team announced that Mississauga’s own RJ Barrett will be sidelined for at least another week with a sprained knee. A banged-up roster is the last thing you want when you’re on a hot streak.
For the Pacers, it was another night of “what could have been.” They’re now riding a three-game losing streak, and at 2-16, the season is looking more like a development year than a playoff push. T.J. McConnell was a spark off the bench with 16 points, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome a Raptors team that simply knows how to win.
Final Thoughts
So, what’s the takeaway? The Raptors are tough, they’re resilient, and they have a certified closer in Brandon Ingram. They can win pretty, and they can win ugly, and the game against the Pacers proved that. And right now, all they do is win. The rest of the East should be on notice.
