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."