The Milwaukee Bucks have put a slow start behind them and are playing some of their best basketball of the season. They'll face another team that is playing better of late when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.

Milwaukee Bucks (24-17, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (12-32, 14th in the Western Conference) New Orleans; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: New Orleans hosts the Milwaukee Bucks after CJ McCollum scored 45 points in the New Orleans Pelicans' 123-119 overtime win over the Utah Jazz.

The Milwaukee Bucks have put a slow start behind ... Lillard was a teammate of Pelicans guard CJ McCollum for 8 1/2 seasons (2013-22) in Portland, and McCollum is coming off a significant ...

BOTTOM LINE: New Orleans hosts the Milwaukee Bucks after CJ McCollum scored 45 points in the New Orleans Pelicans' 123-119 overtime win over the Utah Jazz. The Pelicans are 8-16 on their home court.

CJ McCollum would much rather have written this chapter of the New Orleans Pelicans' record book in a victory.

New Orleans will try to stop its four-game losing streak when the New Orleans Pelicans play Boston. The teams play Friday for the first time this season.

The Detroit Pistons have $14 million available under the salary cap, meaning the path to adding talent at the NBA trade deadline is easier for them than any other team in the NBA. A recent report indicates that the Pistons are one of several teams interested in trading for Lonzo Ball of the Chicago Bulls.

In this episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, Chris Fedor and Ethan Sands discuss the Cavs’ potential trade options as they approach the trade deadline. Takeaways: The Cavs are exploring trade options but face challenges in acquiring talent.

There’s no doubt that Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler wants to play for the Phoenix Suns. He would reportedly be happy with a trade to the Dallas Mavericks or Golden State Warriors as well.

Connor McGregor at the Bucks-Jazz game and other pictures of the day in the NBA

The 33-year-old guard topped 20 points for the fourth time in the last five games, while extending his streak of games with an least one three-pointer to 18. During that stretch, McCollum is averaging 23.4 points, 3.7 assists, 3.6 threes and 3.5 boards while shooting 41.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Amen Thompson made a game-winning floater with 1.3 seconds remaining to polish off a career night, lifting the visiting Houston Rockets to a 114-112 victory over the short-handed Boston Celtics on Monday night.