Minnesota @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 12, 2017 ) Philadelphia 118, Minnesota 112

The Philadelphia 76ers aim for their sixth consecutive victory when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. A win would carry extra importance as it would clinch the franchise's first winning season since 2004-05, when Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson was its star player.

The 76ers, who rolled to a 118-98 victory over Orlando on Thursday, are also closing in on their first postseason berth since 2012 as they are 9 1/2 games in front of ninth-place Detroit with just 11 remaining. "After this game, I kind of have a new goal," All-Star center Joel Embiid told reporters on Thursday. "I want to get to 50 wins. If we can do that, that'd be great, so we got to keep pushing for that." Minnesota can relate to Philadelphia's .500 milestone as it registered a 108-104 victory over New York on Friday to clinch its first winning campaign since 2004-05. "We're trying to change things here," Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters. "We have to do it game by game, day by day and not skip over anything."

TV: 6 p.m. ET, FS North (Minnesota), NBCS Philadelphia

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (42-31): Minnesota is battling to make the playoffs for the first time since 2003-04 as it stands seventh in the Western Conference - two games ahead of ninth-place Denver with nine remaining. "We have a lot more work to do and we have a lot more games in front of us that are just as important," All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, who recorded 24 points and 13 rebounds on Friday for his NBA-leading 60th double-double of the season, told reporters. Taj Gibson is averaging 16.5 points on 11-of-16 shooting over his last two games after playing poorly in the previous two, when he averaged six points on 5-of-13 shooting.

ABOUT THE 76ERS (41-30): Philadelphia led by as many as 35 points while crushing Orlando and finished with a 32-10 advantage in fast-break points. "I feel like our defense set the stage where we could have (had) a launching pad to get out and go," coach Brett Brown told reporters. "It's hard to run after made baskets. It's easier to run after missed baskets." The huge margin allowed Brown to use Embiid for just 20 minutes - in which he recorded 17 points and nine rebounds - in the second end of a back-to-back set.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Embiid contributed 28 points, 12 rebounds and a career-best eight assists as the visiting 76ers notched a 118-112 overtime win over the Timberwolves on Dec. 12.

2. Philadelphia F Ersan Ilyasova scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting against the Magic after five straight single-digit performances.

3. Minnesota PG Derrick Rose (ankle) did not play on Friday and will miss his second straight game.

PREDICTION: 76ers 114, Timberwolves 108