(My Sportsbook) - For a team that's been limping into the upcoming All-Star break, a matchup against the defending world champions isn't what the New Orleans Hornets need right now.

The Hornets will try to turn around their recent struggles when the Boston Celtics make their first and only visit to New Orleans Arena of the season.

New Orleans enters this evening's showdown having dropped five of its last seven games and has played its last four tests without All-Star point guard Chris Paul, who's still dealing with a strained right groin and is iffy to return tonight.

In their most recent outing, the Hornets shot a woeful 29.5 percent from the field in an 85-80 setback at Memphis on Monday.

Peja Stojakovic scored 23 points for a short-handed New Orleans team that was missing both Paul and fellow All-Star David West, who was serving a one-game suspension for committing a flagrant foul in Sunday's 101-97 win over Minnesota.

Without West and center Tyson Chandler (sprained ankle), the Hornets were outrebounded by a whopping 64-38 margin by Memphis.

New Orleans' slide has dropped the team 4 1/2 games behind first-place San Antonio in the Southwest Division standings and into a tie with Dallas for the fifth seed in the Western Conference.

The powerful Celtics own the Eastern Conference's best record at 42-11, but they've lost two of their last three outings since a 12-game winning streak from January 11-February 3. Both of those losses came at home to two of the West's top teams, an overtime defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers last Thursday and Sunday's 105-99 ousting by San Antonio.

Kevin Garnett compiled 26 points and 12 rebounds against the Spurs, while fellow All-Stars Paul Pierce and Ray Allen netted 19 and 18 points, respectively.

The Celtics will be bringing a seven-game road winning streak into tonight's tilt and are an impressive 18-7 as the visitor this season. Boston will be playing the first matchup of a tough six-game road trip that resumes after the All-Star break and includes stops in Dallas, Utah, Phoenix and Denver.

Boston dealt the Hornets a 94-82 defeat in Beantown back in December, but the Celtics have lost in both of their last two games as the visiting team in this series.