Ingram struggles offensively as Raptors fall to Cavaliers in Game 2

CLEVELAND — Careful what you wish for.

Intentionally or not, Toronto Raptors all-star Brandon Ingram made himself the focal point of the discourse leading up to Game 2 of the Raptors first-round series with the Cleveland Cavaliers when he lamented his lack of offensive opportunities in the Game 1 loss.

“At the end of the day, me shooting nine shots is not going to win basketball games,” he said.

In context, it was as much an admonishment for his own lack of activity in the second half of that game, when he scored just four points and had one field goal attempt, as it was a call to action for the coaching staff or his teammates.

But the Raptors pledged to get Ingram more involved in Game 2.

Well, Toronto can’t beat the Cavs when Ingram takes 15 shots either. Not when he makes just three of them and finishes with a measly seven points. His five turnovers didn’t help either.

Ingram’s subpar outing — more than 14 points under his career playoff scoring average and his career low in 12 post-season starts — wasn’t the sole reason the Raptors lost 115-105 to Cleveland to fall behind 2-0 in their best-of-seven series, but it was a big factor.

The Raptors looked much more like themselves in Game 2 as they made Cleveland work much harder for their points and used a much more tenacious defensive effort to generate 14 turnovers and score 16 fastbreak points, just below their league-leading season average and a big improvement after being held to just three in Game 1.

Elsewhere, the Raptors were bolstered by 26 points from Scottie Barnes, 22 from RJ Barrett and 17 off the bench from rookie Collin-Murray Boyles, who added seven rebounds and played well enough that he started the second half over Jakob Poeltl, who was ineffective (two points in nine minutes).

The Cavaliers thwarted the Raptors’ defensive efforts with some elite shot-making from their trio of stars. Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 30 points, while James Harden and Evan Mobley had 28 and 25, respectively. The Raptors’ 22 turnovers also cost them.

The Cavs shot 53 per cent from the floor and were 11-of-32 from three, while Toronto shot 50.3 per cent and was 7-of-26 from three.

The third game of the series is in Toronto on Thursday (8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+).