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Okafor's sore knee could shut him down much longer

Coach Brett Brown was reluctant to say whether Jahlil Okafor would miss the remainder of the season with what the 76ers are calling recurring right knee soreness.

Coach Brett Brown was reluctant to say whether Jahlil Okafor would miss the remainder of the season with what the 76ers are calling recurring right knee soreness.

Brown said Wednesday that his standout rookie power forward had a CAT scan Tuesday. He said the team would know more Thursday, maybe even late Wednesday night.

"I think everything will be reviewed after we get that information," Brown said when he was asked whether the Sixers are considering sidelining Okafor for the rest of the season. "It's a fair question, but I think it's reckless right now to say what the plan is when we don't know what the information truly is.

"I think that we might know after the game more. I would imagine we'll know almost everything [Thursday]. But that decision hasn't been discussed."

The 6-foot-11 Okafor missed the four games heading into Wednesday's matchup against the Houston Rockets with what the club called an injured shin after he bumped knees with teammate Isaiah Canaan late in a loss to the Orlando Magic on Feb. 28. He then missed the Rockets game because his right knee - not his shin - was a problem. On Tuesday, Brown said didn't think the injuries were related. But on Wednesday, he appeared unsure.

"I'm assuming everybody saw the hit [with Canaan] on his shin," Brown said. "It was significant. It's on the same leg, so the swelling may or may not have something to do with the knee. I know we put him on a treadmill [Monday] and there was something funny."

That's when Okafor's latest knee problem came to light. He also missed two preseason games in October and two games in December with soreness in the same knee.

"One isn't related to the other, we don't believe - they're mutually exclusive," Brown said of the reoccurring knee soreness. ". . . We're just concerned. So we had the scan and we'll know more tomorrow - maybe even later tonight."

K.J. returns

Wednesday marked K.J. McDaniels' first game at the Wells Fargo Center since the Sixers traded him to Houston last February. The second-year guard was averaging 1.5 points and 3.9 minutes in 20 appearances heading into the matchup.