Cleveland @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 1, 2018 ) Philadelphia 108, Cleveland 97

The Philadelphia 76ers have matched their longest winning streak in 28 years and aim to stretch it to 13 games when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. The soaring 76ers have continued to win despite losing All-Star center Joel Embiid (orbital fracture) and the winner of Friday's game will reside in third place in the Eastern Conference.

Philadelphia ended an 11-game losing streak against the Cavaliers when they last met on March 1 and the squad feels it is now in a sustained groove entering the rematch. "I think it's all coming together at the right time," Rookie of the Year candidate Ben Simmons told reporters after Wednesday's 115-108 road win over the Detroit Pistons. "A lot of us in here haven't played in the playoffs. It's going to be interesting. As a young team, I think we're ready, we're getting there." Cleveland has recorded five straight victories and 10 in its past 11 games after overcoming a 17-point, fourth quarter deficit to register a 119-115 win over the Washington Wizards on Thursday. "We want to continue to play good ball, which we've been doing as of late," Cavaliers forward LeBron James told reporters after the contest. "But we already clinched, so we know we have a chance to compete for a championship. That's all you can ask for."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBATV, FS Ohio (Cleveland), NBCS Philadelphia

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (49-30): James had 33 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds against Washington in his latest stellar performance but Cleveland looked in deep trouble when the Wizards were building their big lead. "It didn't feel like we were in a very good spot," swingman Kyle Korver told reporters. "We had no rhythm. We weren't getting good shots, we weren't getting stops. They were feeling like they were getting kind of whatever they wanted to." The Cavaliers will likely be short at point guard on Friday with George Hill (ankle) expected to miss his fourth straight game and Jose Calderon (hamstring) likely to sit out his second.

ABOUT THE 76ERS (48-30): While Embiid won't return until sometime during the postseason, starting power forward Dario Saric (elbow) is expected to play on Friday after a three-game absence. Veteran Ersan Ilyasova started in Saric's place and recorded back-to-back double-doubles as the team's season-long trend of players responding to opportunities continued. "They play for each other," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown told reporters. "They really co-exist well. It's stuff with our culture you've been building over the years, and the people we have included into this program have played for each other. I really think they get along well."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Cavaliers have prevailed in each of their last five visits to Philadelphia, including a 113-91 victory on Nov. 27.

2. Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue was back on the sidelines Thursday after a nine-game absence to deal with an illness that included chest pains and sleep deprivation.

3. Philadelphia veteran SG Marco Belinelli is averaged 19.3 points on 22-of-33 shooting over the past three games and has recorded 10 straight double-digit scoring efforts.

PREDICTION: 76ers 106, Cavaliers 104