Brandon Ingram helps Raptors stay hot

Brandon Ingram knew he had Pascal Siakam right where he wanted him.

TORONTO – Brandon Ingram knew he had Pascal Siakam right where he wanted him.

Ingram and Siakam had been battling one-on-one as time was winding down in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s game between the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers. With the game tied 95-95 and Siakam defending against him, Ingram drilled a 14-foot pull-up jump shot, putting the Raptors up by two with 0.6 seconds left on the clock.

“I knew he was in foul trouble, and I knew he didn’t want to be overly aggressive, so he was at my mercy at that point,” said Ingram. “I just wanted to be super aggressive, super aggressive.

“I saw he kept backing up and I just kept being aggressive and getting to my spots.”

After a full timeout, Montreal’s Bennedict Mathurin missed a 26-foot bank 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.

“Everybody knows why BI is here, and what he does for our team, and there’s no secret there,” said head coach Darko Rajakovic. “He’s doing not just a great job of scoring in those situations, but also play making.

“He’s showed it over and over this season.”