Philadelphia (34-38) at Cleveland (44-29) 7:00 pm EDT

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers expect to have shooting guard Larry Hughes back in the lineup Tuesday when they go for their ninth straight win in a matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers.

A 1998 first-round pick of the 76ers, Hughes has been out since early January with a broken finger. He is averaging 16.2 points and 3.9 assists in 28 games this season, his first since signing a lucrative contract with Cleveland in the offseason.

The Cavaliers have not missed a beat without him, having won eight straight games following Sunday's 101-97 triumph over Charlotte. LeBron James collected 35 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead Cleveland within one win of its first nine-game surge since November 21-December 11, 1997.

Philadelphia sits 1 1/2 games ahead of Chicago for eighth place in the Eastern Conference following a home-and-home sweep of New York. In Sunday's 114-95 win against the Knicks, Allen Iverson scored 32 points and Chris Webber and Andre Iguodala added 20 apiece.

The Sixers have won six of the last seven meetings with the Cavaliers, including two of three this season.