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76ers fold meekly in D.C.

Change appears likely for the 76ers, because all involved agree that they cannot continue down this same scattered path all season. After coming off their most exciting performance this fall, the Sixers put together arguably their worst outing last night in a 116-101 loss to the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.

Change appears likely for the 76ers, because all involved agree that they cannot continue down this same scattered path all season. After coming off their most exciting performance this fall, the Sixers put together arguably their worst outing last night in a 116-101 loss to the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.

The game was much more lopsided than the final score indicated, with the Wizards leading by as many as 37 points late in the third quarter.

"We have to do something, anything," said Andre Iguodala, who scored 10 points and shot 3 of 11 from the field. "Make a move. This is getting out of hand."

The Sixers had hoped to gain momentum from Friday's 92-88 win over Portland, when they overcame a 25-point deficit in the second quarter and a 17-point margin to begin the fourth.

"It hasn't happened in the NBA where the second unit can bring you back 25 points night after night," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "It's not going to happen."

That statement meant that Cheeks was not happy with his starters, none of whom played as many as 29 minutes. Could some changes be in store?

"We have a couple days before our game [Friday at Detroit] so we will think about that and worry about that later," Cheeks said.

Of the other starters, Willie Green, Andre Miller and Samuel Dalembert each scored eight points, and Reggie Evans had four points and four rebounds.

Lou Williams scored a career-high 25 points (10 of 13 from the field), while rookie Thaddeus Young tallied a career-high 14.

The Sixers' reserves outscored the starters by 63-38.

"We can't expect every time the second string to come in and try to get the lead or game on track," Dalembert said. "Those guys don't have as much experience as us. We have to make it happen together and haven't been doing it."

The Sixers are 3-7 and have yet to win two games in a row.

Meanwhile, the Wizards (5-5) have won five straight. Last night they played their second straight game without all-star point guard Gilbert Arenas, who was out with a sore left knee.

Antonio Daniels took his place and had 15 points and eight assists. The Sixers' starters combined managed 10 assists.

Andray Blatche led the Wizards with a career-high 26 points.

The Sixers apparently have been playing games the way they have been practicing.

"We [stink] in practice too," Iguodala said.

And Iguodala wasn't finished.

"Sometimes a guy may be out [of practice] and game time not on same page," he said. "We're just not getting a lot out of practice. We need to go back to fundamentals."

At least the Sixers will be getting a lot of practice. They will be back on the floor today at noon.

This was a competitive game for most of the first half. When Miller hit a layup with 4 minutes, 1 second left, the Sixers trailed by just 46-42.

The game then got away in the ensuing four minutes when Washington finished the half on a 14-2 run to take a 60-44 lead.

Things only got worse in the third quarter, when the Wizards scored one uncontested basket after another.

"Our defense was horrendous," Cheeks said.

And the offense wasn't too hot, either.

Now the grumbling has gone past an audible whisper. Change seems likely because the season is too long for the Sixers to accept the status quo.