Emeka Okafor suffered a left ankle sprain with 2:34 left in Sunday's game at the Lakers and he will be out for tomorrow night's game at Utah.

Kareem Rush also has a left ankle sprain, but he is probable for tomorrow at Utah.

Jamal Sampson has back spasms and is probable for the Utah game.

Jalen Rose had another late-game explosion, scoring 14 of his 22 points in the fourth period as the Raptors beat the Charlotte Bobcats, 103-92.  

Rose is crediting his outbursts to a Toronto radio personality who said Raptors general manager Rob Babcock "would be the GM of the year if he could find a way to trade Jalen Rose."

"That kind of sparked me to go out and play and play with a chip on my shoulder and have some fun regardless of what happens," said Rose.

Morris Peterson also threw in 26 points.  Chris Bosh had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Raptors, who have won 10 of their last 11 games at the Air Canada Centre.

Rose has been looking like the go-to-guy Toronto thought they were getting when they traded for him.  He's passing well, making shots, and inspiring the crowd.

"Jalen is going to be Jalen, he's always going to talk about starting and I understand that," said Raptors coach Sam Mitchell.  "But his role with us in the last 14 or 15 games, the way he has been playing and the firepower that he gives us coming off the bench . . .

The Charlotte Bobcats today activated guard Steve Smith from the injured list and placed center Jahidi White on the injured list with a right shoulder strain, it was announced by Bobcats General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff.  Smith will be in uniform for tonight?s home game against Philadelphia.

Smith has played in 22 games this season with averages of 9.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 19.8 minutes.  The 14-year veteran is ranked ninth in the NBA in three-point shooting with a .444 success rate behind the arc.  Smith was placed on the injured list on January 6 with right knee tendinitis and last appeared on December 29 against Indiana when he scored nine points and added three assists in 22 minutes.  The Bobcats have a 6-16 record in games he has played, compared to 2-10 when he has not played, and he has scored 10-plus points in nine of his 22 appearances.

White has seen action in 16 games this season and averaged 2.5 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.0 minutes.  He originally injured his shoulder on November 30 at New Jersey and missed the next 11 games with the injury. White was activated on December 29 and played in eight games since that time.

Kenny Thomas had 21 points and 15 rebounds, Allen Iverson scored 29 and Philadelphia survived a disastrous fourth quarter where they blew a 25-point lead before beating the New Orleans Hornets 95-91 on Monday.

"It don't matter if we won by 30 or we won by one. It's the same result," Iverson said.

"That's been our ultimate goal, just get to first place and win the Atlantic," Iverson said. "That's it. Hopefully today we moved a step closer, but we've got a long way to go."

The first two selections of the 2004 NBA Draft are playing awesome basketball after the first two months of the season.  Emeka Okafor and Dwight Howard meet on Friday night in Orlando.

Okafor has essentially reprised the role he flourished in at UConn, serving as the face of a first-year organization.

"The guy just represents everything that we would like to become, in terms of his competitiveness," Bickerstaff said upon drafting him. "His potential and his upside are really good. But this guy we can build around, and we want to be a defensively oriented basketball team. Defense controls the game. He can get you possessions, he can prevent baskets and he has a great outlet pass."

He is averaging 15.8ppg and 11.4rpg for a Bobcats team that is exceeding expectations.

Howard is also on a team that is playing better than most experts expected, the Orlando Magic.

He is averaging 10.3ppg and 9.9rpg on a veteran roster.

The Charlotte Bobcats activated forward/center Jamal Sampson from the injured list today, it was announced by Bobcats General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff.  In conjunction with that move, guard Steve Smith was placed on the injured list with left knee tendinitis.

Sampson has appeared in 11 games this season and averaged 3.3 points and 5.2 rebounds in 12.9 minutes.  The 6-11, 258-pounder was placed on the injured list on Dec. 29 with a left ankle sprain suffered at Washington on Dec. 27, his third stint on the injured list this season. Sampson was selected by the Bobcats in the Expansion Selection on June 22 from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Smith has played in 22 games this season with one start, while averaging 9.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 19.8 minutes. This is the first time the 13 year NBA veteran has been placed on the injured list this season.

For the second time in as many months, Charlotte Bobcats forward Emeka Okafor earned the NBA?s got Milk? Rookie of the Month award.  Okafor won the November honor to gain the organization?s first-ever league award.

The 6-10, 252-pound forward averaged 18.1 points and 13.3 points in the team?s 13 games in December and recorded at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in each game ? becoming the only player in the NBA to record a double-double in each of his team?s games during the month.  Okafor also had seven games with 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds and six games with six or more offensive rebounds.

Okafor has posted a double-double in 19 straight games, the longest streak by a rookie since 1968-69 when 12-time All-Star Elvin Hayes had 60 double-doubles in a row.  

The second overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft registered new season highs in points and rebounds during the month, with 27 points against Seattle to finish the month on December 31 and 18 rebounds to begin the month on December 4 against New York.  He also scored the game-winning points on two free throws with :05.7 left against New Orleans on December 14 and sent the game to overtime against Houston on December 18 on a dunk with three seconds left in regulation.  He finished the game against the Rockets with 23 points and 17 rebounds.

Okafor leads all rookies with season averages of 15.8 points and 11.6 rebounds.  He is third in the NBA in rebounding, second in the league with 4.1 offensive rebounds and third with 21 double-doubles.

The Miami Heat won their 14th consecutive game on Saturday night, defeating the expansion Bobcats by a final score of 113-90.

Miami improved their record to 25-7, a full 6 1/2 games better than the Cavs for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Dwayne Wade had 26 points, 9 assists and a spectacular blind, over the shoulder shot, which Eddie Jones described as 'Jordanique.'

``Those are the best nights, when you feel like it's just you and the basket and no one can really do much about it,'' Wade said. ``I wish I had more of those nights.''