The defending NBA champion Boston Celtics have been inconsistent recently, but their veteran center has been on a roll.

Kristaps Porzingis will aim to continue his strong play when Boston opens a three-game road trip with a visit to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.

The Celtics had split their previous 12 games before an easy 122-100 home victory against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. Porzingis continued his torrid January by tying a career high with eight 3-pointers made, on 14 attempts, and scored a season-high 34 points.

Porzingis has made 54.1 percent of his 3-point attempts over the last nine games, a dramatic improvement from the 32.9 percent that he had been shooting through Jan. 7.

"I knew sooner or later I'd start hitting shots, and I'd hit my stride and my rhythm," Porzingis said. "My routine stays consistent. It was just a matter of time."

Boston is still trying to hit its stride, though it still has the second-best record in the Eastern Conference entering Thursday. Porzingis's current surge could be the spark the Celtics need to regain their championship form.

"When he's shooting the ball like that with confidence, that opens it up for everybody else," Boston forward Jaylen Brown said, "so that's what I like to see."

Brown complemented Porzingis's sharp shooting against the Bulls. Both made 10-of-18 field-goal attempts, and Brown finished with 28 points despite hitting only 1 of 5 tries from 3-point range.

The Celtics had a close call against the Pelicans during a 120-119 home victory on Jan. 12. New Orleans had a chance to win but fell short when CJ McCollum missed a contested layup in the final seconds.

Like Porzingis, McCollum had a notable 3-point performance Wednesday night. He made three triples to break the Pelicans' franchise record with 629, surpassing current Celtics guard Jrue Holiday.

McCollum's final trey on Wednesday came at the last second of the fourth quarter, but it left New Orleans on the short end of a 137-136 final against visiting Dallas.

"I haven't really thought about it," McCollum said of the accomplishment. "It's just been a tough season collectively for us as a team. I think I'll reflect on it more at the end of the season and later on in my career."

The loss to the Mavericks was the Pelicans' fourth straight defeat, though New Orleans did match its season-high point total.

"That's elite offense," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "We're playing fast. We're sharing the ball. We're taking care of the basketball, low turnovers. I'd like to see our threes up a little bit more, but overall really good game offensively."

Entering Thursday, New Orleans ranks tied for 23rd in the league in 3-point attempts per game (35.3) and tied for 24th in 3-point percentage (34.5). Boston, meanwhile, leads the league in 3-point attempts per game (48.6) and is tied for 12th in 3-point percentage (36.5).

"We've got to start the game with the mindset defensively of forcing those guys to put the ball on the floor," Green said. "They're going to shoot 50 3s and they shoot it at a high percentage, so we need to force them to do some things that they don't want to do."

--Field Level Media

Quickchart Matchup

Boston Off vs  New Orleans Defense
117.3 Points For 118.1 Points Against 45.7 FG% 48.3 FG% 45.0 Reb 46.5 Reb

New Orleans Off vs  Boston Defense
109.7 Points For 108.3 Points Against 44.5 FG% 45.1 FG% 42.9 Reb 44.5 Reb