Raptors film room: Brandon Ingram dominates the Heat

Brandon Ingram dropped a season-high 38 points as the Raptors swept their regular-season matchups versus the Miami Heat. Toronto now inches closer to clinching a playoff spot, with the magic number of wins needed being one.

Here’s my recap:

And here’s Samson Folk on the game:

“Murray-Boyles was one of the youngest players to appear in the game for either side, yet he defined the game. And in the hunt of the playoffs proper rather than the play-in, the Raptors have another must-win game against the Heat in two nights. They’ll need to ensure their identity follows them into that contest.”

The Raptors took a commanding 19 point lead into the second half, 69-50.

Near the 11 minute mark of the third quarter, Ingram dribbled toward the 3-point line with significant intention, careless of who would come meet him (turns out two Heat made the trek to contest his shot) and launched away for points 26, 27, and 28 to put the Raptors up by 26. A huge burst of scoring from the Raptors leading scorer and an early attempt at a knockout punch against the Heat. Of course, the Heat wouldn’t allow a knockout so early, and especially after Spoelstra’s passioned call out before the game. A charged up Barnes got a technical, after Bam Adebayo cashed a three, for jawing at Pelle Larsson and the technical foul that Adebayo made as a result of that jumpstarted a big run from the Heat. A huge run of triples from the Heat that helped bring the game back within 6. That’s right, they snapped off a 25-8 run, and in very short order.

It wasn’t that the Raptors weren’t scoring in return, they were. It just so happened that the Raptors were manufacturing 2-point shots while the Heat were raining from downtown nearly every possession. Variance swings, and violently so at times. Even so, the Raptors kept pushing the boulder up the hill. A bucket here and there, a touch shot, a halfcourt drive, a push in transition. Ingram was just as important in the close of the quarter as he was in the opening. In the midst of a dazzling scoring performance, and one that required a lot of diversity in the types of shots he was taking. Hard charging to the basket, pulling up audaciously, or even hunting his own misses, he was grinding out there. That aggression was what led to a Heat double and a kick out to Quickley for a triple. Bending the defense with ease. Ingram had a hand in the last handful of baskets the Raptors made to close the third and head into the fourth with a 12-point lead.

A quick stint of scoring — that was long awaited and a sight for sore eyes — from Barnes helped the Raptors open up the fourth quarter with authority. A nice bump to shepherd them through the front end of the quarter that Ingram typically sits during. The Heat, without the 3-point glitch in operation, didn’t find scoring as easy vs. the Raptors.

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