Charlotte @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 13, 2017 ) Philadelphia 105, Charlotte 99

The rising Philadelphia 76ers suddenly are one of the hottest teams in the NBA, and they also have a signature victory about which to boast. Philadelphia looks to avoid a letdown when it hosts the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, one night after an impressive 108-97 victory at Cleveland that represented its eighth win in 10 games.

The 76ers are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and certainly were in a rejoicing mood after ending an 11-game losing streak against the Cavaliers. "We're proud of the win," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown told reporters. "Any time you can beat a team LeBron James plays on, you must have done something fairly decent." Charlotte had won five straight games - the last four by at least 15 points - before being hammered 134-106 by Boston in Wednesday's opener of a three-game road trip. "What we got was what we deserved. Our defense was embarrassing," Hornets coach Steve Clifford told reporters after his squad allowed a season-high point total. "The things that have made us the Hornets over the years ... none of it was there."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Charlotte), NBCS Philadelphia

ABOUT THE HORNETS (28-34): Charlotte allowed Boston to shoot 62.1 percent and lost the rebounding battle 47-33 on the rare night in which Dwight Howard was a non-factor on the boards. Howard grabbed just three rebounds while scoring 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting and is a torrid 28-for-37 over his last three games. All-Star guard Kemba Walker scored 23 points against the Celtics and has recorded 20 or more in 16 of his last 20 contests.

ABOUT THE 76ERS (33-27): Ben Simmons contributed 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the win over Cleveland hours after being named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for the third time this season. Simmons, who is batting Utah guard Donovan Mitchell for Rookie of the Year honors, averaged 16 points, 7.7 assists and 7.3 rebounds last month. JJ Redick scored 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting against the Cavaliers after hitting just 6-of-24 shots over his previous two games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. This is the first of four meetings over a 30-day span, with the next occurring Tuesday in Charlotte.

2. Philadelphia F Dario Saric registered 16 points and nine rebounds against the Cavaliers and has scored in double digits in each of his last 40 games.

3. Hornets backup C Frank Kaminsky is averaging 15.8 points over his last four contests.

PREDICTION: 76ers 103, Hornets 101