(Associated Press)

The 76ers lost Monday. You probably already knew that. But maybe you didn’t know what Los Angeles forward Blake Griffin said about the Sixers, following the Clippers’ 94-83 win.

“Philly’s a tough team, and they play hard,” Griffin said. “If you don’t play hard and with that intensity, you’re not going to win here.”

Part of Brett Brown’s culture change for the Sixers goes beyond wins. It’s in establishing a reputation around the league, as a running team, as an aggressive team, as a team that will not roll over. The Sixers twice in the fourth quarter whittled their deficit, which had crested at 21 points, to seven points. Both times, they couldn’t get the next basket to close the gap even further.

Compliments don’t feel nearly as good as victories. But they go a long way toward vanquishing sleepless nights, like the one Brown likely experienced last Friday, after the Sixers’ defensive collapse in a loss at Charlotte.

“I slept OK last night,” Brown said at Tuesday’s practice. “I didn’t sleep that well after Charlotte. There’s a respect factor that we want to have for this program. The players have put in the time. And there’s only a handful of games where you say, ‘You don’t want to be a part of that, or linked to that performance.’ The entire Spurs game. At Charlotte. Those are the games that stand out to me. After that, I’m really proud of our guys and how they have competed.

“I see daylight where we’ll continue to get better defensively.”

The Sixers (7-15), who have lost four in a row, have dropped 11 of 13 overall. They left today for a two-game roadtrip, which begins Wednesday in Minnesota and ends Friday in Toronto.

(Associated Press)

Aside from the obvious, of heading into the All-Star break on a strong note, the Sixers need a win Wednesday at Milwaukee.

They know it. They expect the Bucks know it, too.

The Sixers (22-28) are looking for anything to help turn their attention from Monday's embarrassing 107-90 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, during which they were assaulted down low. It got so bad in that one for the Sixers, who were outscored in the paint, 48-26, that fans were booing Blake Griffin for choosing not to dunk.

Heading to Milwaukee – and coming out with a win – would do wonders for the Sixers, both in the standings and for their psyche. The Sixers, ninth in the Eastern Conference, trail the Bucks, who are eighth, for the final playoff spot.

“We can't look at this,” Sixers coach Doug Collins said of the loss to the Clippers. “There are going to be times when teams come in and play great. You have to say they played great.

“I said to the guys, 'We have to go to Milwaukee and we've got to be ready to play. Let's not check out for All-Star week. Let's go to Milwaukee and let's play. That's what we've got to do.'”

Added Jrue Holiday: “It's over with, really. Whatever happened, happened. We're definitely looking at Milwaukee.”

If you take the Sixers at their word, they're keying on the Bucks – not because the Clippers left a bad taste in their mouth, but because …

“That's a team we're chasing,” Nick Young said.