Brandon Ingram’s playoff woes continued in the Toronto Raptors’ 115-105 Game 2 road loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.
Two days after calling out Toronto coach Darko Rajaković over his lack of scoring opportunities in Game 1, Ingram delivered an even worse showing. With the fifth-seeded Raptors facing a daunting 2-0 deficit in the first-round Eastern Conference series, the NBA world began raising red flags about Ingram’s viability as a No. 1 postseason option.
Brandon Ingram’s Abysmal 7-Point Game 2 Sounds Alarm Bells
Ingram finished Saturday’s 126-113 Game 1 road letdown with just 17 points. However, perhaps most concerningly, he attempted only nine shots, with the two-time All-Star voicing his frustration postgame.
“At the end of the day, me shooting nine shots is not going to win basketball games,” Ingram said after explaining that Rajaković intended to utilize him as a “screener” and “receiver.”
Ingram got his wish to an extent in Game 2, attempting 15 field goals. Unfortunately for the 28-year-old, he went 3-for-15 (20%) en route to a disastrous 7-point night.
Conversely, Cleveland’s star trio of Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, and Evan Mobley faced little resistance, each scoring 25-plus points as they combined for 83 points. The Cavaliers led wire-to-wire, securing their record-tying 12th straight postseason win over Toronto, a streak that dates back to 2016.
MORE: ‘Embarrassing Choke Job’ — NBA World Reacts to Knicks’ ‘Dumbfounding’ Game 2 Collapse vs. Hawks
Ingram’s dismal shooting performance nullified his co-star Scottie Barnes’ playoff career-high 26 points, as the shot-creation-needy Raptors couldn’t keep pace.
After watching Ingram repeatedly clank jumpers off the iron and throw careless passes while racking up 5 turnovers, the NBA community let him hear about it on X.
“Playoff dropper 😭,” BrickCenter captioned a compilation of Ingram’s lowlights.
Brandon Ingram tonight
🧱 7 PTS
🧱 5 TOV
🧱 3-15 FGPlayoff dropper 😭 pic.twitter.com/ScPdHW7tYK
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) April 21, 2026
“Catching up on other games, that is a shambolic Brandon Ingram performance,” Mile High Sports’ Ryan Blackburn reacted.
Catching up on other games, that is a shambolic Brandon Ingram performance.
— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn) April 21, 2026
“If Ingram has even an average night, Raptors win. To say this has been a disappointing start to his first playoff series with Toronto would be an understatement. Now he’s got 72 hrs to sit on it. Raps down 0-2,” TSN’s Josh Lewenberg opined.
3 points, 1-4 FG in the 4th. 7 pts, 3-15 FG, 5 turnovers in the game.
If Ingram has even an average night, Raptors win. To say this has been a disappointing start to his first playoff series with Toronto would be an understatement. Now he’s got 72 hrs to sit on it. Raps down 0-2 https://t.co/JBtiyTnz9n
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 21, 2026
“The Raptors probably win this one if Brandon Ingram doesn’t have the worst statistical playoff game of his career,” The Athletic’s Esfandiar Baraheni contended.
The Raptors probably win this one if Brandon Ingram doesn’t have the worst statistical playoff game of his career.
7 points on 3-15 shooting with 5 turnovers and a -16 in 35 minutes.
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) April 21, 2026
“Yo, Brandon Ingram needs to be called out by every NBA fan right now. You can’t demand the ball and perform like this,” content creator Ahmed/The Ears blasted Ingram.
Yo Brandon Ingram needs to be called out by every NBA fan right now
you can’t demand the ball and perform like this
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) April 21, 2026
Even legendary Raptors analyst Leo Rautins questioned Ingram’s leadership.
“When the Raptors had Kawhi Leonard, did you ever hear him say, ‘Hey, you got to give me the ball?'” Rautins began. “… When you’re an All-Star, you get the ball. You go get it. You make plays.”
Leo Rautins criticizes Brandon Ingram after the Game 1 post-game callout:
“When the Raptors had Kawhi Leonard, did you ever hear him say, ‘You got to give me the ball’? He never said anything like that in public.”
“When you’re an All-Star, you get the ball. You go get it. You… https://t.co/O6fFtHpcgG pic.twitter.com/lIsDoFzZEW
— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) April 21, 2026
Through two playoff outings with the Raptors, Ingram is averaging 12.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 0.5 steals per game on 33.3% shooting heading home to Toronto for Thursday’s crucial Game 3 clash.
