The brave front T.J. Ford had been putting up has finally cracked.

The Raptors point guard has been fighting consistent pain in his right ankle for almost a month and last night had to bow to reality and sit out a game for only the fourth time this season.

"It's tough, I didn't feel I could play and be productive," Ford said. "Basically, it's just sore. It just stiffened up on me today. We've been monitoring it and I wouldn't have made it any better if I'd tried to play."

And there's no guarantee he's going to be ready to face the New Orleans Hornets tomorrow.

"It could be a week, it could be two days," coach Sam Mitchell said before last night's game against the Bobcats.