TORONTO — Brandon Ingram knew he had Pascal Siakam right where he wanted him.
Ingram and Siakam battled one-on-one as time wound down in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's game between the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers. With the game tied 95-95 and Siakam defending, Ingram hit a 14-foot pull-up jump shot to increase the Raptors' lead by two with 0.6 seconds left.
“I knew he had trouble fouling and I knew he didn't want to be too aggressive, so he was at my mercy at that point,” Ingram said. “I just wanted to be super aggressive, super aggressive.
“I saw that he kept retreating and I kept being aggressive and getting to my spots.”
After a full timeout, Montreal's Bennedict Mathurin missed a 26-foot shot for the Pacers, ending the game.
Ingram finished with 26 points and eight rebounds as the Raptors won their ninth straight game. It was his first game-winning shot since the New Orleans Pelicans traded him to Toronto on Feb. 6.
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“Everyone knows why BI is here and what he does for our team, and there is no secret,” said head coach Darko Rajakovic. “Not only does he score well in these situations, but he also creates plays.
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“He's shown it time and time again this season.”
The Raptors are in first place in the Atlantic Division, two games behind the New York Knicks, and second in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games behind the Detroit Pistons.
Toronto finished the group stage of the Emirates NBA Cup with a perfect 4-0 record. That, along with the Milwaukee Bucks' 106-103 loss to the Miami Heat earlier Wednesday, secured them a top-two seed and home court in the quarterfinals of the season tournament.
Ingram and Rajakovic said the Raptors aren't paying any attention to their winning streak, but the 28-year-old forward said the in-season tournament is helping Toronto prepare for a playoff series.
“It’s a confidence booster,” he said in the postgame conference. “It’s kind of an early playoff game, trying to compete for something.
“It’s all an experience for what we want.”
Scottie Barnes had a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds for a battered Toronto team. Immanuel Quickley had 15 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Toronto had an unusually poor performance from 3-point range, going 5 of 26 (19.2 percent) from behind the arc. The Raptors' 3-point shooting percentage was 37.8%, tied for sixth in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets.
“You have to win in different ways,” Quickley said. “You have to win when you shoot poorly, you have to win sometimes when you turn the ball over, you have to win ugly.
“In an 82-game season, you're not always going to throw the ball well, but you can always play defense. You can always bring energy, effort, and that's what we did tonight.”
Toronto reserve forward Grady Dick left the court in the first quarter and did not return after falling hard on an offensive rebound. After the game, Rajakovic said Dick was fine, but had to be pulled from the game to comply with the league's concussion protocol.
Earlier Wednesday, the Raptors announced that swingman R.J. Barrett, from Mississauga, Ont., will miss at least another week with a sprained knee.
TJ McConnell came off the bench with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists as Indiana (2-16) lost its third straight. Jaras Walker scored 13 points and was a rebound shy of a double-double.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
