(AP)

The 76ers’ Tony Wroten will not travel with the team for a three-game roadtrip that begins Saturday in Chicago, said coach Brett Brown.

The sixth man-turned-spot starter went down with a right ankle sprain midway through the fourth quarter. X-rays on his ankle came back negative, according to a team rep. He was navigating the locker room on crutches.

While driving the lane with 6:01 remaining, Wroten stepped on the foot of New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert and crumpled. Wroten remained on the floor, grabbing at his right foot while teammates surrounded him. The second-year guard did not return to the game.

“It was a big sprain. Just got to take it one day at a time, really,” said Wroten, who had 12 points and four assists. “It’s a high ankle sprain. Tough to put weight on it.”

The roadtrip starts Saturday at Chicago and also includes games Monday at San Antonio and Wednesday at Houston. It’s not entirely inconceivable that the 20-year-old Wroten could join his teammates somewhere along the way.

Winning with Wroten was difficult enough. Winning without him will be a challenge. The Sixers (15-54) have lost 23 in a row, and are three wins shy of matching the league’s record for the longest losing streak.

Wroten was asked if you can ever get used to losing.

“Hell no,” he said. “I’m never used to losing. I speak for the team. We’re never used to losing. There’s no such thing as getting used to losing. I never come into a game talking about, ‘I hope we lose. Let’s just play.’ No. We come into the game, every game, trying to win. Just speaking for myself, no matter how many times we lose, no matter how many times we lose in a row, you can never get used to losing. I’m pretty sure my teammates would agree. I’m not worried about no (number of) losses in a row. It happens. About the NBA, there’s a game the next day.”

(AP)

Believe it or not, the 76ers are 3-0.

They used a Spencer Hawes bucket with 5.9 seconds to go (off of a ridiculous behind-the-back pass from Michael Carter-Williams, which can be seen here) to complete the rally and beat the Chicago Bulls, 107-104, Saturday night.

Here are some quotes and notes from the game:

• The Sixers once trailed by as many as 20 points.
• The Sixers won for the third time in three games, despite entering the fourth quarter without a lead in each of those games. They were 4-47 in those situations last season.
• Carter-Williams has equaled five players in NBA history, dating to 1985-86, with 27 assists or more in their first three games (Damien Lillard, John Wall, Jamaal Tinsley, Mike Bibby, Damon Stoudamire).
• Brett Brown has three wins to begin his coaching career.
• The Sixers didn’t have a three-game winning streak all of last season, and they already do this season.

So basically…the Sixers’ start is absurd.

“This is a very unexpected start,” Brown conceded.

Furthermore, the Sixers won both games of a back-to-back – something that eluded them a year ago.

“It shows your mental toughness, playing back to back,” said Evan Turner. “… It was good to stay in it when we were down 20.”

The Sixers have the day off Sunday before hosting Golden State Monday night.

(Associated Press)

CHICAGO – It’s not easy, but Ed Pinckney keeps his eye on everything.

Just the other day, he said he had GameTracker up and running on his computer, keeping an eye on Villanova hoops while dishing out pregame warmup passes to Rip Hamilton. So Pinckney, the Chicago assistant coach by way of Villanova, said the Sixers have something good on their hands in big man Andrew Bynum.

Pinckney’s an 11-year NBA veteran who retired in 1997, so he knows the strain that can be placed upon a post player’s body over the course of an 82-game season. The Bulls assistant coach, who won a national championship at ’Nova in 1985 – said Philly fans should be patient with Bynum because they’ve got a rare commodity.

“I think Philly is tough, man. You’ve got to bring it, and (Bynum) hasn’t had an opportunity to get on the court,” Pinckney said Saturday, prior to tipoff of the Sixers-Bulls game. “Once he does, people will understand why they sacrificed what they did to get him.”

(Associated Press)

Bynum has yet to play or even practice with the Sixers this season, while dealing with bilateral bone bruises and weakened cartilage in each of his knees. The Sixers traded for Bynum, the 2011-12 All-Star and two-time NBA champion, in a four-team swap Aug. 10.

“He’s one of very few big guys who can play with their backs to the basket,” Pinckney said. “There aren’t a lot of those guys around. It’s just a matter of managing his injury and getting him on the court. Then people will have an understanding of why he’s there.”