TORONTO (AP) - Charlotte guard Jason Richardson missed his seventh straight game Wednesday when the Bobcats visited the Toronto Raptors.
Richardson, Charlotte's leading scorer with 17.6 points, woke up with pain and swelling his right knee on Nov. 12, a day after matching a season high with 23 points in a loss to Denver. Doctors performed exploratory surgery and found no structural damage.Richardson returned to practice Tuesday, but Charlotte coach Larry Brown decided to hold him out against the Raptors.
"The doctors cleared him, but yesterday was the first time he really practiced hard," Brown said. "(The knee) was a little bit puffy and a little bit stiff, so we're going to give him one more practice and hopefully he'll be all right."
Richardson hopes to return Friday when the Bobcats, the NBA's lowest scoring team at 87.2 points, visit Indiana.
"I'm definitely shooting for Friday," Richardson said. "I'll go hard in practice tomorrow, get some work in and hopefully I'll be out there."
The decision to sit Richardson meant another start for the pairing of point guards Raymond Felton and D.J. Augustin. The two combined for 48 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds as Charlotte snapped a four-game losing streak in Monday's 93-84 win over Philadelphia.
