Hornets point guard Chris Paul returned to practice for the first time in a month Tuesday to test his sprained right ankle.

Paul has been sidelined since severely spraining the ankle when he came down on the foot of Seattle's Johan Petro in a game on Dec. 26.

"I think it's one of those things that I'm still just going to have to get comfortable with. This right here helped out a lot," Paul said Tuesday. "With an injury like this -- this being my first time -- you always second-guess it."

New Orleans has gone 8-9 without its leading scorer, but has won three straight to start its current five-game homestand. The Hornets host Philadelphia on Wednesday and Minnesota on Friday.