(AP)

The 76ers had the emotional edge. They had more than 20,000 fans behind them. And they lost.

For the 13^th straight time out, the Sixers lost. This one, Saturday’s 122-103 defeat at the hands of Washington, left the Sixers winless on their five-game homestand, their longest of the season. They haven’t won since Jan. 29 at Boston, and are 0-4 since the trade deadline.

The Sixers (15-44) had a packed Wells Fargo Center at their disposal against the Wizards, with 20,856 fans selling out the building for the first time this season to see the jersey retirement of Allen Iverson. It still wasn’t enough to keep the Sixers from losing for the 23^rd time in their last 26 games.

With 23 games left, the Sixers’ skid begs the question, ‘Will they win again this season?’

(AP)

“This is the truth: if we don’t play better transition defense, and we don’t take care of the ball, then we’ve got some problems. That’s a fact,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said. “I think there is wins in that locker room.

“If we get back in transition where we just have a chance to guard, and we play together, you move the ball, you co-exist – those are the things that will tie in the chance to win again. If we don’t, I have no idea. I think it’s a lottery.”

Thirteen of the Sixers’ final 23 games are on the road, and only seven of them are against teams out of playoff races. Winning another game this season is a conversation Brown said he has “all the time” with his players.

“He just says, ‘If we’re going to win a game, pull things together.’ All of us believe, every time we step on the floor, that we’re going to win the game,” said Sixers rookie Michael Carter-Williams. “We never go on the floor thinking we’re going to lose. We have to keep working, keep sticking together.

“We’re in the game. We’ve been blown out in the past games. We’re in the game. We just have to hold teams from going on those runs. It goes from eight to 18 in two minutes. We have to stop that.”

The Sixers visit Orlando Sunday.