Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers begin a difficult stretch of their schedule Wednesday in Boston. Starting with the game against the Celtics and ending with Monday's road date with the Mavericks -- sandwiched around a home game against the Hawks and a road contest in San Antonio -- the Sixers take on four very good clubs.

If they don't win at least one of them, they'll find themselves further down the Eastern Conference standings with their annual Christmas/New Year's West Coast trip looming.

"I just looked at that a couple days ago," said guard Willie Green. "I think this is really big for us to see where we are as a team. We're playing against top-level teams. We have to leave it all out on the floor."

The Sixers haven't fared well against solid teams this year. Their only victory over a team with more than four wins was the home opener against the Bucks. They were blown out at home by the Celtics and Jazz and on the road by the Magic. They also lost by four to the Suns (at the Wachovia Center) and six to the Cavaliers (on the road).

To have a shot at winning any of them, they're going to have to defend better than they did in the third quarter of Tuesday's loss to the Wizards, when they gave up 40 points on 16-for-25 shooting in the period.

"It was pretty much the same thing we've been doing all year -- giving up open shots and second-chance points," said swingman Andre Iguodala.

WIZARDS 108, SIXERS 107: The Sixers nearly overcame a 14-point deficit with eight minutes left, but Lou Williams' potential game-winning jumper bounced off the rim. Sixers coach Eddie Jordan relied heavily on two reserves, Jason Smith (14 points) and rookie Jrue Holiday (11 points, six boards), in the fourth-quarter rally.

• Philly coach Eddie Jordan was among those lamenting the death of Wizards owner Abe Pollin on Tuesday at the age of 85. Pollin hired Jordan to coach Washington in July 2003. Jordan coached there for five-plus seasons until he was fired Nov. 24, 2008. He took over as Sixers coach last summer. "He was a big friend and a huge supporter," Jordan said. "He was understanding and a real competitor. It's a huge loss."

• Before losing by one point Tuesday, the Sixers were 3-0 in games decided by three points or fewer after going 6-9 in those games last season.

Quote To Note:

"I think I'm one of the best all-around players out there. I guess it was not making shots (2-for-10). I feel like I defend better than anybody out there. Whatever the reason may be, I can't really harp on it. I just move on and don't let this drag on."

—G/F Andre Iguodala after only playing 2:48 of the fourth quarter of Tuesday's 108-107 road loss to the Wizards.

Rotation:

Starters—Point guard Lou Williams, Shooting guard Andre Iguodala, Small forward Thaddeus Young, Power forward Elton Brand, Center Samuel Dalembert. Bench—Guard Willie Green, Guard/forward Rodney Carney, Forward/center Jason Smith, Forward Jason Kapono, Guard Jrue Holiday.

Player Notes:

• G/F Andre Iguodala is averaging 13 points on 13-for-49 shooting (26.5 percent), including 1-for-10 on 3-pointers, in the last three games after averaging 24.5 points on 51.4 percent shooting in the two previous outings.

• C Samuel Dalembert has averaged 21.5 minutes over the past four games since playing 34 at Chicago on Nov. 14.

• F Jason Kapono returned after missing one game with a sprained ankle to go scoreless in six minutes against Washington.

Medical Watch:

• F/C Marreese Speights, the Sixers' top reserve, suffered a partially torn MCL in the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss to the Bulls. He is expected to be out six to eight weeks.

• F Elton Brand left the Washington game in the third quarter with a sore right hamstring and didn't return. He is listed as day to day.