PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Joe Smith knows all about the thrill of the No. 1 pick. He was one himself, after all.

Here’s something else about No. 1s he wants all those Philadelphia 76ers fans to know: The Sixers don’t intend to select No. 1, No. 2 or any other position available in the draft lottery.

Faint as its chances still are, Philadelphia is aiming for the postseason.

“We never thought we were out of it,” said Smith, the 1995 No. 1 overall pick. “We kind of felt that if we could get a nice run together that we could always put ourselves back in it.”

Playing bad basketball, mired in last place, the franchise player gone, Philadelphia’s season was as empty as the seats at the Wachovia Center. About the only part of the season anyone was looking forward to was the end of it – when three first-round draft picks possibly would energize the sinking organization and its disgruntled fan base.

“There came a point when I didn’t know when we’d win again,” said forward Steven Hunter.

Now look at the Sixers.

They’ll take a season-high five-game winning streak into Friday night’s game against the Lakers, the longest active streak in the Eastern Conference, and have won six straight at home.

Playoffs? Don’t laugh. The Sixers aren’t.

“We’re not in this business to go out there and lose games,” Smith said.

The Sixers (23-38) are in 11th place in the 15-team East, but just 5 games behind Orlando for the eighth and final spot entering Thursday night. The Sixers were off and the Magic hosted the Bulls. Not bad for a team that was 11-30 on Jan. 21.

The Sixers are streaking while the teams in front of them have hit the skids. The Magic and seventh-place Indiana were 3-7 in their last 10 entering Thursday night, while the Pacers have lost seven straight. The ninth-place Nets are on a three-game losing streak and the 10th-place Knicks are 5-5 in their last 10 games.

Plus, no team at the bottom of the playoff pack has shown much potential for a long winning streak. Then again, neither did the Sixers, though there’s still a ton of ground to make up in only 21 games.

“The way we’ve won some games is a result of guys trying to do things right while we were going through hard times and it’s paying off now,” said coach Maurice Cheeks.

Some fickle fans, however, would rather have a high lottery pick and take a franchise-changing prospect such as Ohio State’s Greg Oden or Texas’ Kevin Durant than suffer through, say, a first-round sweep against Detroit and middling picks.

Smith was bugged at the airport this week by a fan who wanted to know why the Sixers couldn’t lose more. Smith told him because the team only plays to win and reach the postseason.

“They laugh it off and give different reactions, but at the same time, I’m dead serious about it,” he said.

Andre Iguodala told another pesky fan he could still have a playoff team and a lottery pick – if Denver misses the playoffs. The Nuggets are in seventh place and only two games ahead of No. 9 Sacramento. The Sixers acquired two first rounders from Denver in the Allen Iverson trade.

“It gave him a different perspective as far as wanting us to lose,” Iguodala said.

Iguodala has been the Sixer that’s flipped the flop.

Andre Miller is the true, unselfish point guard the Sixers needed, Samuel Dalembert has been huge on the boards (20 rebounds against Seattle on Wednesday), Hunter has improved, and Smith and Kyle Korver are clutch off the bench in the fourth quarter. Smith even hit the winning jumper in the final minute to beat the SuperSonics.

But no one has blossomed without Iverson and Chris Webber like Iguodala. His 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Seattle gave him three triple-doubles this season. He’s scored 20-plus points in each of the last six games.

Iguodala regrets not clicking with Iverson, but said it wasn’t necessarily his fault.

“I didn’t have the ball in my hands as much,” he said. “I still was having opportunities. I was having glimpses of it, but it just wasn’t consistent like it is now. He’s a guy that dominates the ball a lot. No matter what team he’s on, he’s going to dominate the ball.”

Now, Iguodala’s confidence has soared like one of his highlight-reel dunks.

“I think the more opportunity he’s got to become a special player, he’ll take advantage of it,” Cheeks said. “I think as the season progresses, he’s going to be even better.”

AP-ES-03-08-07 1533EST