Baron Davis and the Clippers (17-19) in town tonight to take on the Hornets (19-17). Game tipping at 7 Central.

This will be the third of four meetings between these teams this season. The Hornets won the previous two battles, with that 112-84 result in L.A. on November 9th still standing as their lone blowout victory of the season.

The Clippers come to New Orleans a little shook up. They were riding a 4-game win streak before they played the Grizzlies in Memphis last night, a game which saw the whole building evacuated briefly during the third quarter on account of a broken water pipe. The Clips were up 13 before that break, but ended up losing 102-104., dropping their road record to 5-11. Chris Kaman did not play against the Grizz after hurting his back in warm-ups, while Marcus Camby left after the first quarter due to a stomach virus. No word on whether those two will be available to play tonight, and Blake Griffin won’t be playing anytime soon.

The Hornets will be looking to slow Clipper guards Baron Davis and Eric Gordon. Davis put up 27 points, 12 boards and 12 assists last night in Memphis, while Gordon is averaging 17 points on 54 percent shooting the past five games. Note that Gordon missed the previous two meetings with the Hornets this season.

Some numbers:

Pace: Clippers 91.8 (21st), Hornets 91.9 (20th)
Offensive Efficiency: Clippers 102.4 (22nd), Hornets 103.6 (18th)
Defensive Efficiency: Clippers 103.2 (13th), Hornets 105.7 (20th)

Hornets coming off that loss in Philly on Monday, which snapped their six-game win streak. They’ve won their last six at New Orleans Arena.

I’ll be chatting with the TrueHoop crew over at ESPN’s Daily Dime Live during the game. Drop by with questions or comments.

Linkage:

• Lagniappe: Better with Bower, Grandmama flashback, and CP feeling at home in N.O.
  
• Rival bloggers: ClipperBlog.com | Clips Nation

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today’s banner featuring Jerome Moiso, who played 66 games with the Hornets from 2001-2003. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz’s designs in our Wallpapers vault.)