Makeshift Sixers know they’re tanking, but they’d love to stumble upon a win before season’s end

MIAMI — The makeshift 76ers understand the tanking assignment.

But they would love to take a break from the script in at least one of the remaining three games.

Slipping up and winning a game would help the psyche of a squad that has lost 12 straight and 29 of 33 games.

“We just want to finish the season as strong as we can,” Lonnie Walker IV said. “There’s really no rhyme or reason of what we are doing and things of that nature as far as like, ‘Do we want to lose?’ No. You know, we’re all coming in every day with the intent to win.

“Everyone is still approaching the next day like we’ve still got 82 games left.”

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But the Sixers (23-56) have far fewer opportunities to get that elusive win.

 They’ll face the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night at Capital One Arena before finishing with a two-game homestand against the Atlanta Hawks (Friday) and Chicago Bulls (Sunday).

“We’ve got a great group of guys who are consistently putting in work until we don’t have any time left,” Walker said. “I think we’re treating every day and every game like it’s our last game.”

But the Sixers are constructed to lose with most of their normal rotation players sidelined. So while they play hard, opposing teams routinely put them away with game-altering runs in the fourth quarter.

That’s what happened Tuesday in a 117-105 loss to the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center.

The Heat (36-43) went on a 19-5 run to take a 13-point lead with 4 minutes, 22 seconds remaining, turning the tide and making sure the Sixers’ last win would remain a 130-125 decision over the Dallas Mavericks on March 16 at American Airlines Center.

But things are going well in the Sixers’ quest to keep their first-round pick in June’s draft, which is top-six protected.

They have a 2½-game cushion over the Brooklyn Nets for the league’s fifth-worst record entering Tuesday’s matchup between Brooklyn and the New Orleans Pelicans at the Barclays Center.

The Sixers will have a 63.9% chance of retaining the pick by keeping their positioning.

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“I feel like everyone understands what the goal is,” Adem Bona said. “The bigger goal is to come back next year healthier, compete for the championship. So right now, we’re just building toward that. So we understand what the assignment is. So no one is getting pouty or like being upset because we all understand what the assignment is.”

Bona reiterated what Walker said about giving their best effort.

“The results are not going our way,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we are not trying. But we are giving our best out there and building toward next year.”

Walker and Quentin Grimes shared game-high scoring honors with 29 points.

Grimes, who scored 15 of his points in the third quarter, has posted at least 20 points in four straight games.

Walker was two points shy of the career-high 31 points he scored as a member of the San Antonio Spurs against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 20, 2021. The shooting guard also made a career high-tying six three-pointers on Monday.

Bona, a rookie center, had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocked shots to finish with his third double-double.

» READ MORE: Sixers stick to tanking script in 117-105 loss to Miami Heat, their 12th straight defeat

The Sixers’ best opportunity to win will come against the Wizards, who have the league’s second-worst record at 17-61.

The teams split this season’s two previous meetings, with Washington prevailing, 119-114, on March 26 in Philly.

“It’s tough,” Grimes said, “but we are fighting every game.”