LOS ANGELES — The Philadelphia 76ers, riding high after a Christmas Day upset of the Milwaukee Bucks, have endured a swift descent and center Joel Embiid admitted a four-game NBA losing streak is getting him down.

"Losing four in a row sucks, and it doesn't feel like we're getting better," a frustrated Embiid told reporters after the team lost to the Rockets in Houston on Friday night.

"I care about winning," the Cameroonian big man said. "It's taking a toll on me. All I care about is winning. It sucks."

Heading into Friday's contest, 76ers coach Brett Brown had cautioned his players that the team "can't get too irrational" with 46 games left in the regular season.

Three straight defeats had prompted guard Josh Richardson to say the locker room lacked accountability.

Embiid's comments to reporters on Thursday, in which he said Sixers players "have got to help each other even if it means being outside of your comfort zone," were widely interpreted as a dig at teammate Ben Simmons.

Australia's Simmons, famously reluctant to shoot from the perimeter, nevertheless again showed himself a major contributor against the Rockets, finishing with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists along with four blocked shots in his 25th career triple-double.

That was trumped by James Harden's triple-double of 44 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, along with an outstanding performance from Rockets center Clint Capela.

The 76ers will be hoping to turn things around when they return home to host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.

"We're frustrated, but we know we've got to get better," Simmons said. "I think everybody, I believe everybody, is on the same page with that.

"So we look forward to OKC. We've got to get that win."

NBA fines Wizards guard

Thomas $25K for bumping referee

Washington Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Saturday for inappropriate contact with a referee in a 122-103 home loss to Portland on Friday.

Thomas received a technical foul and was ejected for the incident, which took place 88 seconds into the first quarter.

The 30-year-old American was being double covered by Portland's Carmelo Anthony and Damian Lillard along the sideline. He battled for control of the ball with Anthony and moved forward, sticking his arm into the chest of referee Marat Kogut, who was standing out of bounds.

The play was reviewed by officials before the ejection was upheld.

Although the contact could have been Thomas trying to steady himself against Kogut rather than push the referee, it made no difference in enforcing rules designed to protect officials.

"He made physical contact with a referee," referee crew chief Mark Ayotte said after the game. "It was definitely just a push during the dead ball contact with the referee."

Kogut, 40, moved from Ukraine to the United States with his family seven days after he was born in Kiev.

Thomas, 30, is averaging 13.0 points and 4.4 assists a game for the Wizards, who at 10-24 are 5 1/2 games behind Orlando for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. — AFP