The Toronto Raptors were on a three-game winning streak that put them on the brink of 11th place in the Eastern Conference. That’s why they benched their starters in crunch time Saturday night.

Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl all sat out down the stretch as the Raptors barely avoided a comeback win against the Washington Wizards.

Jamal Shead made what looked like the game-winning basket at the buzzer, but it was ruled too late and the Wizards won, 118-117.

Toronto’s closing lineup included the rookie Shead, two-way player A.J. Lawson, two-way player Orlando Robinson, two-way player Jared Rhoden and Colin Castleton, who is on a 10-day contract.

They almost won in spite of themselves, but instead got a loss to help their draft lottery odds.

They’re not unique in their disinterest in making the play-in tournament. The Brooklyn Nets didn’t score for the final 4:03 of their 105-102 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, blowing a 14-point fourth quarter lead. They’ve lost seven straight games.

Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic speaks to his players in the second half against the Utah Jazz at Scotiabank Arena. Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

The 11th-place Philadelphia 76ers have lost 12 of their last 13 games, with Joel Embiid out for the season and Paul George and Tyrese Maxey on the shelf.

They’ll face a challenge in continuing their losing ways Sunday, as the Utah Jazz put a whopping nine players on their injury report, including four who are out with “injury management” or “rest.”

Only the 10th-place Chicago Bulls appear to be trying, despite a recent six-game skid. They’re 26-38 after beating the Miami Heat Saturday, 114-109.

They may not be a good team, but at least they play their starters at the end of close games. While their winning percentage of .406 would be the worst in the history of the play-in, the Bulls’ four-game lead is looking insurmountable, given their competition.

The adoption of the play-in tournament was supposed to make the final month of the NBA season more relevant, and discourage bad teams from tanking. Instead, tanking season has started five weeks before the end of the season.

Perhaps the only reason Washington and Charlotte are trying to win is that they have nearly locked down a bottom-four record and the maximum number of lottery ping-pong balls.

The lure of making the play-in isn’t working like commissioner Adam Silver intended. Short of the NBA initiating fines for blatant tanking, the bottom part of the Eastern Conference looks to be unwatchable for the rest of the season.