Charlotte short-handed versus Portland

Charlotte, NC (Basketball News) - The Charlotte Bobcats were without two starters on Monday when they hosted the Portland Trail Blazers at Charlotte Coliseum.

Rookie forward Emeka Okafor (ankle), who sat out Sunday’s loss to New York, missed tonight’s game, as well as starting guard Brevin Knight, who had to leave last night’s contest with a sprained ankle.

Okafor was activated from the injured list prior to Friday’s 97-87 loss against Miami, but he left the game in the fourth quarter after re- injuring his sprained left ankle.

The 22-year-old Okafor had 13 points and grabbed seven` rebounds in 33 minutes against the Heat, but had to leave the game with around 5 1/2 minutes remaining after landing on the ankle and aggravating the injury.

The second overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, Okafor has started all 42 games he has played this season and is averaging a team- high 14.8 points and 11 boards per contest.

Knight, meanwhile, missed the final 21 minutes of last night’s 102-99 loss after spraining his ankle. He also missed five games in late January with a sprained left ankle.

Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff said before the game that both players would also miss Wednesday’s game at Denver, the team’s final game before the All-Star break.