Brandon Ingram left Wednesday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets due to a right thumb sprain and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest. After the Raptors’ win, coach Darko Rajakovic said Ingram is day-to-day.
Ingram’s injury initially appeared to occur midway through the first quarter, when he looked as though he jammed his thumb while trying to poke the ball loose from Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel. He left at the 5:58 mark of the second, after putting up six points, two assists and three blocks on 2-of-7 shooting through 10:57 of action.
X-rays on Ingram’s thumb came back negative. Meanwhile, sophomore guard Ja’Kobe Walter started the second half in place of the one-time all-star.
Ingram was dealt to Toronto at last year’s trade deadline and later signed a three-year, $120-million extension to stick with the Raptors. So far, the 28-year-old has been a mainstay of the lineup — despite coming off a season in which he only played 18 games due to an ankle injury — while providing plenty of scoring punch along the way.
Ingram has yet to miss a game this season, averaging a team-best 22.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists through 37 appearances entering Wednesday. He also ranks third in the NBA for total minutes (1,268.4).
