Philadelphia @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 1, 2017 ) Atlanta 109, Philadelphia 119

The Philadelphia 76ers remain the hottest team in the Eastern Conference, but they may be forced to try to continue their surge without All-Star center Joel Embiid when they visit the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. Embiid left Wednesday's 118-101 home win over the New York Knicks following a collision with teammate Markelle Fultz.

The 24-year-old Embiid was taken to the hospital, where it was determined he had a facial contusion but no fractures and he passed concussion tests. "I know I hit him, but I believe he is OK," Fultz told reporters. "My heart dropped. He's a tough guy. All I can do is pray for him." Dario Saric picked up the slack with 26 points and 14 rebounds for the Sixers, who won their season-high eighth straight game and remained a half-game behind third-place Cleveland in the East. They get to play two of their remaining eight games at lowly Atlanta, which dropped 10 of its last 11 after a 126-114 loss at Minnesota on Wednesday to cap a 1-5 road trip.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, FS Southeast (Atlanta)

ABOUT THE 76ERS (44-30): Philadelphia's winning streak is its longest since a nine-gamer in 2003 and it is 19-1 at Wells Fargo Center since January began. "It's a blessing just to be a part of that," Robert Covington - who chipped in 17 points against the Knicks - told reporters. "We are still going. We have a lot of basketball to play. So it's only the beginning." Fultz was playing in his second game after sitting out the bulk of the season with a shoulder issue and he has 15 assists with one turnover in 28 minutes since his return.

ABOUT THE HAWKS (21-54): Atlanta simply wants some positives to carry into the offseason and it received one Wednesday in the play of Mike Muscala, who scored a career-high 24 points in 25 minutes off the bench. "I thought we moved it well in transition and got some good looks from 3 and everything, and guards did a good job penetrating, finding open shooters and finishing at the rim," he told the media. Isaiah Taylor is averaging 21.3 points in three starts in the past week in place of point guard Dennis Schroder, who is day-to-day with a sprained ankle.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Covington scored 22 points and Embiid added 21 in a 119-109 win over Atlanta at home earlier this season.

2. Atlanta needs to win two of its remaining seven games to avoid the franchise's second 60-loss campaign.

3. Sixers PG Ben Simmons recorded at least 10 assists in eight of his last nine games.

PREDICTION: 76ers 109, Hawks 103