New Orleans Hornets forward Jamal Mashburn shot a basketball for the first time in a week. Was it a tease or will he play in Game 5 tonight against the 76ers at the First Union Center?

Last Wednesday, Mashburn suffered a bone chip fracture/dislocation of his right middle finger during the Hornets' 90-85 loss in Game 2. Not until yesterday had Mashburn done any basketball-related activity, his finger covered with tape.

It was no time to get nostalgic, so Paul Silas conducted practice as normal yesterday for the New Orleans Hornets. Never mind that it could have been the final Hornets practice ever run by the most successful coach in the team's 14-year history.

Trailing by three games to one in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal, the Hornets will attempt to stay alive when they visit the 76ers in Game 5 tonight at the First Union Center.

If Jamal Mashburn plays any more for New Orleans in this season's playoffs, it apparently will have to be sometime after the first round.

The Hornets' star forward left Game 2 of the first-round series with the 76ers with a dislocation and chip fracture of the middle finger of his right hand.

After Philadelphia's 96-87 win Monday night, one of the NBA's most accomplished coaches and effervescent players sounded like starstruck teenagers.

"He had as good a game as you can have," Coach Larry Brown said.

"He's our ringleader," guard Allen Iverson said. "We follow him."

For 42 minutes of a 48-minute game he had played on a leg and a half, and now Baron Davis was stretched out, resting both legs, looking off into locker-room space, thinking.

The words came tumbling out. Slowly.

"We sure didn't play like a team with their backs to the wall."

Benjamin Hochman of the Times Picayune reports that Jamal Mashburn will likely miss Game 3 of the Hornets series against Philadelphia. Mashburn chipped a bone in his right middle finger during Game 2.

"That thing is really swollen, and he can't bend it at all," Head coach Paul Silas said. "It doesn't look good to have him on Saturday. I just don't see the swelling going down significantly in the next couple of days. . . . If he can play any, I'm sure he's going to be out there. But right now it just doesn't look good."

While Mashburn being out is a big blow to the Hornets, they get somewhat of a boost with the return of Baron Davis. Davis missed Game 2 with a sore knee caused by a bone bruise he suffered in Game 1.

"It's just day-to-day," said Davis, who participated in the Hornets' light shootaround Thursday at the Alario Center. "The doctor told me he didn't want me to do any jumping or running. I'm out there still trying to shoot and stay with my same rhythm. Hopefully, by Saturday, I'll be a lot more mobile. The swelling has gone down substantially, and it's going to continue to go down as long as I stay off of it. Saturday, I'll be ready to go."

"He wanted to play last night," Silas said. "But we're lucky now that we sat him out since Mash went down. He'll be close to 100 percent, and that will really help us."

Still, as a team, the Hornets are back in the position they were last year: less than 100%.

"That's been one of the characteristics of our team the last several years -- a lot of injuries, guys being in and out of the lineup and having different guys off the bench step up," forward P.J. Brown said. "We're in that position again."

The team, though, has confidence it can still win despite all the adversity.

"We won last year against Orlando when Mash was out, so we can certainly do it again," Silas said. "We've been through all the adversity anyone could stand. It doesn't bother us. We know what we have to get done. Guys have to step up."

"When you've been there before, you know it's not over because you're down two," said guard Robert Pack, who scored 15 points in Game 2. "It definitely puts you in a tough spot, but you just have to go out and believe that you can get it done."

Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Hornets forward Jamal Mashburn dislocated his middle finger and also has a chip fracture in the same finger.

Mashburn hurt his finger, on his shooting hand no less, trying to save a ball against Eric Snow.

"I think I hit my hand on his back," Mashburn said. "It just wouldn't go back in place. I couldn't hold the ball. I couldn't pass the ball."

It is unclear how long Mashburn, who missed almost all the playoffs last season while suffering from vertigo, will be out.

"You have to accept it," he said.

"It's part of basketball. I want to be out there. I've learned to deal with certain issues...If we're playing in the NFL, had a week or something, I'd probably be OK. There's no telling with this one."

Mashburn said, "I'm going to see what happens [today] and go from there. I wish I had more info."

Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Baron Davis? status for tonight?s Game 2 showdown between New Orleans and Philadelphia is up in the air.

Davis, who was a bone bruise on his left knee, is wearing an electronic stimulator to help reduce the swelling.

The stimulator, which is worn five to six times a day, is really helping according to trainer Terry Kofler.

"It's (the swelling) gone down tremendously," Kofler said.

Davis said the knee feels better than it did after Sunday?s 98-90 Game 1 loss to Philadelphia but whether or not he plays in Game 2 is up to team orthopedist Gregor Hoffman.

"I am feeling better," Davis said. "Each day of rest, it's going to get better. Tomorrow, it will probably feel better than it does today. It's out of my hands to determine whether I'm going to play. It's in the doctor's hands."

If Davis cannot play, coach Paul Silas? backup plan is to move David Wesley to point guard and to put George Lynch into the starting lineup at shooting guard.

While he would like to see Davis play, he does not want him to further injure his knee.

  "Ideally, if he could play at somewhat full strength, we'd be a better club. But if he's going to re-injure the thing because we didn't give it enough time to rest, I don't want that either. We'll make do until Saturday and have him ready on Saturday."

Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune reports that a bone bruise in Baron Davis' left knee could keep him out for Game 2 against Philadelphia.

Davis had an MRI on his left knee which revealed the bone bruise and his status is officially day-to-day.

"It's still sore," Davis said. "I'll take (today) off too, rest it and hopefully some of the inflammation will go down. We'll just hope for the best, but it's extremely frustrating, especially knowing that after I came back I was close to 100 percent, then got it hurt again just before the playoffs."

It's the same left knee on which Davis had arthroscopic surgery back on January 28 which kept him out 20 games.

Davis feels he can contribute to the team still, but is unsure how long he can be out on the court.

"As far as playing and doing some things, I feel I can contribute," Davis said. "As far as the minutes, I don't know how many minutes I can play. But I'll try to give it as much as I possibly can, five good minutes or 10 good minutes, just give it as much as I possibly can."

Head coach Paul Silas is feeling a reoccurrence of last years injury bug coming back to bite the Hornets again.

"It's d?j? vu," Silas said. "If Baron goes down, we've just got to find a way to get it done. We beat Orlando last year after Mash went down, and we can do the same."

As a matter of fact, Silas is more confident this team will be able to overcome an extended absence by Davis because they have already had to deal with it this season and because of Jamal Mashburn's ability to play point-forward, which he did in Davis' absence.

"That's a positive because I know we can do it," Silas said. "We've been through a lot of adversity this year and always come through. These guys are resilient, and that's what I love about them. They just come through when the have to. I have no doubt that they will again.

"It's a lot easier with a healthy Baron, but if we have to play without him, we will, and we must win."

Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune reports that Baron Davis is experiencing popping in his left knee.

Davis experienced the popping in the first quarter of New Orleans' game against the Atlanta Hawks. Gregor Hoffman, an orthopedic surgeon, examined Davis' knee and felt that it was just scar tissue and nothing serious.

Davis should be one hundred percent for the Hornets series against Philadelphia, which begins Sunday night.