Brandon Ingram led the Toronto Raptors with 34 points in a 119-108 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena. “I think it’s around that time for things to start clicking defensively, offensively…we found it,” Ingram said.
He highlighted the team’s ability to recover from recent struggles. “We went through a little rough patch these previous four games, but we had some conversations…we’ve been able to fight back when we’ve been down and stay together.”
Ingram described how he recognized when his scoring rhythm was established. “A couple mid-range shots…filling in rhythm at the three. My teammates just been doing a good job of finding me when I’m open and putting me in good spots to be aggressive.”
The Raptors’ defensive effort drew praise from Ingram. “Just staying together, honestly…Jak [Poeltl] did a great job tonight of grabbing balls offensively and defensively and that helped us in transition in our offense.”
On matching the physicality of top teams, Ingram noted, “We have a little more direction offensively…we know the physicality is going to come at some point, we just have to figure out how to meet it and be smarter than the other team.”
He also commented on adjusting to specific matchups. “We got the match up that we wanted and we kept attacking…try to make the defense react, go into the paint and get some shots on the perimeter.”
Ingram shared his respect for Detroit’s Cade Cunningham. “Steady…he’s never in a rush. He can shoot the long ball, he can shoot mid-range, and he can get all the way to the rim. Most impressive, he gets his teammates involved with live passes.”
RJ Barrett’s defensive contributions impressed Ingram as well. “He’s taken the challenge, especially these last two games…his effort and intensity on defense…that energy is going over to the offensive end and it’s helping him out a lot.”
He stressed that recent wins against tough opponents signal Toronto’s growth. “For sure…outside noise, whatever opinion they have about us, that’s cool. We continue to fight and try to be the best we can every single time we play.”
In addition to Ingram’s 34 points, RJ Barrett added 27, Jakob Poeltl finished with 21 points and 18 rebounds, and Scottie Barnes contributed 14 points and 10 boards. Detroit’s Cade Cunningham scored 33 points with nine assists, while Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren recorded 21 and 20 points respectively.
The Raptors, now sixth in the Eastern Conference, will visit the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, while the Pistons head to Washington on Tuesday.
