Toronto Raptors defeated the Miami Heat 128-114 at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night, with Brandon Ingram scoring a season-high 38 points in a game that reshaped the Eastern Conference standings.
The Raptors improved to 45-35 and moved into fifth place after the win, while Miami dropped further in the play-in race after a 10th loss in 13 games.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic emphasized Miami’s early pressure and Toronto’s response across most of the game.
“I thought that they came out very aggressive. They had the 7-0 run there to start the game and from that point like our team was able to to react to that and really to slow them down outside of the third quarter.”
Rajakovic highlighted quarter-by-quarter control as a key factor in the outcome.
“We kept them to 26, 24 and 24 points per each quarter. We won three quarters. We just gave them, you know, we were a little bit loose there in the third quarter. We gave them several wide open shots. They made nine threes there, but the rest of it we were controlling the game.”
He also pointed to possession control as a structural advantage for Toronto.
“We had 13 more possessions than them. Only four turnovers. That was a huge in this game. And we won the rebounding battle. That was huge.”
A major focus of the night was Brandon Ingram’s all-around impact beyond scoring.
“You looked at Brandon was probably more forceful than he’s been in a long time. We need BI to be aggressive. We need him to be forceful. He did a good job not just scoring, he grabbed seven rebounds, seven assists today. He led our team in assists tonight.”
Rajakovic also noted Ingram’s rim pressure and offensive gravity.
“He draws a lot of attention because of his size. I really like that he was not settling for anything that he was really aggressive taking it to the rim.”
He added that Toronto’s spacing improved through that aggression.
“A lot of times it two or three players are coming to contest his shots which opens up a lot of room for offensive rebounding.”
The head coach connected Ingram’s attacking mindset to broader offensive consistency.
“I think it’s just like how aggressive he is and his ability to get to the rim. I think that’s a game changer when he’s really aggressive getting to the rim and getting foul calls.”
Toronto also limited turnovers against a transition-oriented Miami team.
“We did not, you know, we were not very forceful tonight in transition, but I thought that taking care of the ball was big part of our game plan.”
Rajakovic closed by referencing the team’s travel schedule and next challenge.
“We’re going to try to beat Miami to the airport because we’re flying out at the same time and go to New York and compete the best we can against New York.”
