ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS) - The Sixers open a key set of back-to-back games tonight down in Georgia as they visit the Hawks.

Sixers' forward Elton Brand continues to lead the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game, and he called in to KYW Newsradio after Tuesday afternoon's shootaround, breaking down the matchup with the Hawks.

"This is a team we lost to (twice) earlier in the season," Brand said.  "They are similar to other teams we've lost to -- once we play them the third time we feel more confident now.  Even though they are on their home court, we feel like we can win this game.  The Atlanta Hawks start of course with (guard) Joe Johnson, All-Star (center) Al Horford, and (forward) Josh Smith has been playing real well as well," Brand told KYW.

Hear the entire interview in this CBS Philly SportsPod...

The Sixers are 20-14 since a 3-13 start, and Brand says they really have improved.

"Here it is February and we are playing some games with meaning," he said.  "We didn't have that last year at all.  So it's exciting.  The team has bonded, like I said earlier.  We've grown.  We're ready to play some meaningful games late into this season, which is important for the growth of the younger players."

Brand recalls when he really started to feel like this Sixers team had left its losing streak behind:

"I think that Denver home game (110-99 win on January 30th) really helped us turn the corner.  We lost to Memphis (the previous game) -- we were up 21 points after winning three games in a row and just the look on everyone's face was like, 'We should win. We can win. We can win every game we play.'   And that feeling resonated throughout the team and we came and won three more games after that."

The Sixers are coming off a home-and-home split with the Knicks, winning Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center and losing on Sunday afternoon in New York.  That leaves them at 23-27, and in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

Atlanta is 33-18 and in fourth place in the East.

After tonight, the Sixers return home to host Orlando on Wednesday.

Reported by Matt Leon, KYW Newsradio 1060.