The Toronto Raptors need to decrease turnovers and get more scoring from Brandon Ingram on Thursday night in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff matchup against the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 after their wire-to-wire 115-105 home victory Monday.
The Cavaliers have defeated the Raptors in 12 consecutive playoff games to equal the NBA postseason record for a winning streak against one opponent.
The Raptors, who are home for Games 3 and 4, committed 22 turnovers Monday for a total of 40 leading to 44 points over the first two games.
“I think it really came down to turnovers,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said after Game 2. “They really cost us.”
Ingram, who often was Toronto’s top scorer in the regular season, had 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting in the first game, a 126-113 setback on Saturday, and seven points (3-for-15) on Monday.
“I’m confident I won’t miss all my shots and find a rhythm,” Ingram said at practice on Wednesday. “It’s tough when you feel like you’re not doing your job. But I like to sit in disappointment for a little bit, see where I went wrong, and then get back into the fight.”
“We need him to continue being aggressive in shooting,” Rajakovic said. “I’ve got absolute support for him. He’s going to make his shots.”
Cleveland forward Dean Wade scored eight total points over the two games, but he started both and is a key to the defense.
“We had it in the back of our minds to start Dean anyway because that five-man lineup has been so great for us all year,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson told cleveland.com after Game 2. “But the more we watched film as a staff, we just kept saying, (Ingram) is the head of the snake, so we need to put our best perimeter defender on him.’ That’s Dean.”
Wade, in his seventh season, all with the Cavaliers, said he enjoys the defensive role
“Sometimes, it’s a thankless job and I had to learn to love it,” he said. “But, man, I love it. I really do.”
Toronto center Jakob Poeltl also has struggled. He had two points and four rebounds in only 9:26 on Monday.
“He needs to be part of the solution for us,” Rajakovic said Wednesday. “He needs to be more aggressive. He needs to dominate the glass. … He’s going to be a big part of Game 3, and I believe he’s going to perform really well.”
The Raptors were without Immanuel Quickley (strained right hamstring) for the first two games, but the injury is improving.
“We’ll see where he’s at tomorrow,” Rajakovic said.
With Ingram struggling, Scottie Barnes led Toronto with 26 points on Monday and RJ Barrett added 22 points.
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points for Cleveland in Game 2, James Harden added 28 points and Evan Mobley scored 25 points.
The February trade for Harden, an 11-time All-Star guard and the league MVP in 2018, has helped Mitchell.
“I mean, I can go stand on the wing,” Mitchell said. “And like I always say, you have a guy that can create his own offense for himself and for others. … it just makes it tough (to defend).
“And there’s also possessions where you can just go stand in the corner and allow him to be him. It’s definitely better on the body, I’ll tell you that. That’s one thing.”
Atkinson agreed.
“That’s part of it, right?” the coach said. “Keeping (Mitchell’s) usage at a reasonable level. Donovan can get worn down. So again, these are reasons why you bring James Harden on board.”
