(Photo credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images)

The Portland Trail Blazers begin their 2026 schedule on Friday when they continue a three-game road trip against the slumping New Orleans Pelicans.

New Orleans put together a season-best five-game winning streak from Dec. 11-22 - a run that began with the Pelicans' 143-120 rout of Portland - but the team has since taken five straight losses.

The Pelicans closed the 2025 portion of their docket on Wednesday with a 134-118 loss at Chicago despite 31 points from Zion Williamson. The two-time All-Star forward was coming off the bench upon his Dec. 14 return from an adductor injury, but moved back into the starting rotation for the last two contests.

Williamson responded to the move with back-to-back 30-plus-point games, going for a season-high 32 in the 130-125 loss to New York on Monday. His team-leading scoring average is up to 22.7 points per game, but the recent losing skid comes down less to New Orleans scoring points than conceding them.

Monday's game marked the third time during the Pelicans' losing streak in which they surrendered 130-plus points. Their season yield of 122.8 points per game is the third-highest in the NBA.

'We've got to be better defensively, bottom line, and we own that,' New Orleans coach James Borrego said. 'But I'm proud of the group, how they've grown throughout the month. There's clarity in who we are trying to become and who we are becoming.'

Regaining its defensive form from the five-game winning streak, during which New Orleans did not allow more than 120 points in regulation at any point, is part of the clarity the Pelicans aim for on Friday.

Portland, meanwhile, has encountered some offensive struggles over a recent stretch in which the Blazers have dropped four of six. While they cleared their season average of 116.2 points per game in Monday's 125-122 win over Dallas, the Blazers have fallen short of their average in six of the last seven games.

That includes Wednesday's 124-95 loss to reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City, which marked the third time in December that Portland failed to reach triple-digits.

An offensive bright spot for the Blazers against the Thunder, however, came from Sidy Cissoko. Cissoko knocked down 5 of 7 3-point attempts, his career-best long-range shooting performance, on the way to 19 points.

'He was in a little shooting slump (earlier in the season),' Portland coach Tiago Splitter said. 'Hopefully, he can stay like that. He's developing in a lot of ways, defensively, offensively. ...Good confidence for him.'

The Blazers are seeking consistent offensive production to complement Deni Avdija, who is averaging 25.3 points per game, while dealing with a bevy of injuries. Jerami Grant (Achilles) and Jrue Holiday (calf), who have put up almost 37 points per game combined, remain out.

Grant last played Dec. 18 while Holiday has been sidelined since mid-November. The team announced Thursday that Holiday has been 'cleared for a progression of on-court activities as he continues his return-to-play process,' and that Grant is traveling with the team on this road trip and considered day-to-day.

Shaedon Sharpe is scoring 21.8 points per game, second among all Blazers, but comes into Friday's contest having shot less than 40% from the floor in three of Portland's last four games. Shooting woes have been a season-long issue for the Blazers, with their 44.6 field-goal percentage the NBA's second-lowest.

--Field Level Media