Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, right, takes a shot while being defended by Lakers forward Anthony Davis during Boston’s 117-96 loss on Thursday in Los Angeles. Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Kristaps Porzingis was a bright spot in the one of the Celtics’ ugliest losses of the season. The big man had 22 points and seven rebounds in Boston’s 117-96 loss to the Lakers on Thursday night. While the Celtics have been up and down for about a month, Porzingis has been consistent, averaging 19.4 points on 48% shooting. He is also shooting well (46.7%) from 3-point range.

All promising signs since Porzingis is coming off major offseason surgery.

“I’m feeling pretty good, honestly,” Porzingis said. “I’m having again good starts early on. Guys are finding me early on. I’m hitting shots. My percentages and 3-pointers are going up. Starting to feel better physically. I’m getting there. If I’m not there, I’m getting there. It’s a good sign. I want to keep playing this way and all of us just to have more consistent performances as a team and we’ll be good.”

Despite his stellar month, the Celtics are just 5-4 in January in games he’s played and 7-5 in the month overall. Therein lies the concerning part of this equation for the Celtics. For awhile, Boston could point to the need to reintegrate Porzingis as the cause for their mediocre stretch. Now? Porzingis is far from the problem. He’s been one of their biggest weapons, yet the inconsistency remains.

The Celtics starting five has found its footing again and collectively played well against the Lakers in 12 minutes (plus-20 net rating). That’s three straight strong performances from that unit. Beyond that group, the Celtics struggled against the Lakers.

Boston’s offense is floundering a lot in different areas . The Celtics 3-point shooting has been mediocre. The starting backcourt has not contributed offensively most nights. Jaylen Brown’s 3-point shooting has sharply regressed. Payton Pritchard is falling back to earth. Collectively, Boston has looked like an ordinary team for more than a month. They are 10-10 in their last 20 games after a 21-5 start, yet there was no concern within the locker room after the loss.

“I’m not concerned but it’s a part of just navigating the year,” Brown said. “Anything can happen. We just need to finish through All-Star break strong and then get ready to gear up going in towards the playoffs and just continue to stay with it, stay with it, stay the course, stay the course, because I feel like we’re still the best team out there. We’ve just gotta put it all together.”

Porzingis also pointed to the fact the game against the Lakers was the second of back-to-back.

“I think we’re starting to play better, but we just didn’t have a good night tonight,” Porzingis said. “We had a back-to-back. That has to go into the equation, so that’s honestly what it is a little bit. But to be honest I feel like we are starting to play better and I think we’ll be fine.”

Boston gets the benefit of the doubt coming off an NBA championship. Yet it feels like a different team, despite returning basically the same roster. An uneven week has turned into an uneven month and contenders generally don’t alternate wins and losses for weeks on end in the regular season.

With no back-to-backs on the horizon until after the All-Star break, the time is now for the Celtics to show they can play consistent basketball. Porzingis is ahead of schedule getting back to his old self but his successful return has not hidden other warts that keep emerging.