While the New Orleans Pelicans are on a modest winning streak, the Boston Celtics will bring even more success to the table when the teams meet Friday.
The visiting Celtics seek their ninth consecutive victory, while the Pelicans try for their fourth consecutive win.
On Wednesday, Boston was short-handed yet still rolled to a 126-101 victory at Atlanta, while New Orleans cruised past visiting Chicago 124-110.
The Eastern Conference-leading Celtics played without their third- and fourth-leading scorers as Malcolm Brogdon (hamstring) missed his fourth consecutive game and Marcus Smart was sidelined by inflammation in his right ankle.
Jaylen Brown scored 22 points to lead seven Boston players that scored at least 14 points.
Boston shot 54.5 percent from the floor and made 21 3-pointers on 46 attempts (45.7 percent).
The Pelicans followed a similar script without leading scorer Zion Williamson, who’s day to day after missing the last two games because of a bruised foot.
Like Boston, New Orleans showed off its depth with balanced scoring even without the missing firepower from Williamson.
CJ McCollum scored 23 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 22 to lead six double-figure scorers.
The Pelicans made 17 of 33 from 3-point range for a season-high 51.5 percent, one night after making a season-high 18 3-pointers on 38 attempts (47.4 percent) in a win against Memphis.
Trey Murphy III made 5 of 6 3-pointers and 7 of 9 field-goal attempts and had his first career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Second-leading scorer Brandon Ingram’s 16 points were nearly five below his average, but he had a season-high nine assists as the Pelicans finished with 30 assists on 43 field goals.
The Celtics are playing the middle game of a three-game road trip that finishes at Chicago on Monday. The Pelicans are playing the fifth game of a six-game homestand that concludes against Golden State on Monday.
