Philadelphia (17-20) got off to a slow start after signing Brand to a five-year, $80 million contract over the summer. Things were looking even bleaker for the 76ers when the two-time All-Star power forward went down with a shoulder injury in mid-December.

After dropping six of their first eight without Brand, however, Philadelphia has responded by winning a season-high four in a row, including quality victories over Houston and Atlanta.

"It seems like we're getting it together a little bit," Sixers point guard Andre Miller said after scoring 19 points with seven assists in a 109-94 road win over the Hawks on Sunday.

Philadelphia shot 54.7 percent from the field in that game, outscored Atlanta 56-36 in the paint and had 27 assists on 41 field goals. Perhaps more importantly, they played effective defense down the stretch, holding the Hawks to 16 fourth-quarter points.

"We got some stops tonight, and when we get stops, it enables us to get out and run," said Andre Iguodala, averaging 23.1 points, 6.6 assists and 5.0 rebounds over his last seven games. "We're getting easier opportunities because of the fast break, and when that's not there, we're getting points out of our half-court set."

Philadelphia's recent success without Brand could make the Sixers that much more dangerous when their best interior player returns. Brand practiced Monday for the first time since suffering the injury, and will be re-evaluated soon. He's listed as day-to-day, according to the team's official Web site.

The Sixers will put their winning streak on the line against a Trail Blazers team that's had some recent success following the return of its own All-Star.

After Portland (23-14) split four games with leading scorer Brandon Roy sidelined by a hamstring injury, Roy has returned to help the Blazers post consecutive victories over Golden State and Chicago.

Roy was held to 11 points and 3-for-13 shooting Monday, but sixth man Travis Outlaw had a season-high 33 points, Greg Oden added 17 and 13 rebounds and Steve Blake contributed 16 points and 10 assists in the 109-95 road win over the Bulls.

"The X-factor is me, Travis and Steve Blake," Oden said. "We're the three that are behind (Roy) and LaMarcus (Aldridge). Whenever we can step up and have good games to take pressure off those guys, it's going to be big."

Outlaw, averaging 11.6 points on the season, has scored 14.6 per game off the bench over his last 11 contests, and the Blazers are 7-4 in that stretch.

The Blazers and Sixers split two games last season. Roy and Aldridge scored 25 points apiece in Portland's lone trip to Philadelphia on Nov. 16, but the Blazers blew a 25-point lead in that game, getting outscored 36-15 in the fourth quarter of the 92-88 defeat.

Iguodala led the Sixers with 22 points in that game, and Louis Williams - averaging 13.0 points in six games this month - added 19 off the bench.