The Clippers lost on Thursday night, which isn’t big news anymore, not after losing 10 of their past 11 games in less than a month.
Their season-high 28 turnovers were noteworthy and perhaps so was James Harden’s absence because of a calf injury, but not the Clippers’ 122-101 result against the league’s best team. It was their fifth lopsided loss over the past 26 days, this one coming at the hands of the 24-1 Oklahoma City Thunder.
Despite the gloom, however, Coach Tyronn Lue remains positive about the Clippers’ fast-eroding season that continues Saturday night against the Lakers (19-7) at Intuit Dome.
“Gotta be better. The season’s not over,” Lue said Thursday before the Clippers got steamrolled by reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder. “… we’re four games out of the Play-In. That’s gotta be our mindset going forward … once we get there, however it’s as many games as it takes to get (into) the (top-six spot).”
Lue pointed to the Clippers’ previous five games in which they were competitive in four losses as a reason for his optimism. The team is now five games out of the Play-In.
“We have to play better. We gotta be able to close out games and finish them. That’s what we’ve been struggling with,” he said.
“Instead of playing 48 minutes, we’ve been playing 37 minutes. It’s just not enough if you want to beat some of these good teams.”
The Clippers (6-21) have not put together a solid 48-minute game since beating the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 3. Harden led the team with 27 points and nine assists in that 115-92 victory, while Kawhi Leonard added 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. Ivica Zubac had 14 points and 17 rebounds.
Harden, who did not make the trip to Oklahoma City on Thursday, will be available on Saturday.
Harden suffered the calf contusion during a loss to the Houston Rockets on Dec. 11, but he practiced Sunday, one day after Lue canceled practice because of a lack of healthy players. Lue said Monday that Harden was one of those who couldn’t practice.
He played in Monday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies but lacked his usual explosiveness and finished with 13 points, six assists and three rebounds.
Being without Harden, who is averaging a team-high 26 points and 8.1 assists, along with 5.2 rebounds, would further spoil the Clippers’ already dim chances against Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Co. in front of their home crowd.
After the Clippers lost to the Memphis Grizzlies at Intuit Dome with Harden and Leonard in the lineup, the exiting Clippers fans booed the home team, sounds that could get louder if the team doesn’t compete and ends the weekend last or tied for last in the Western Conference.
LAKERS AT CLIPPERS
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Intuit Dome
TV/radio: FDSN SoCal, KTLA (Ch. 5), Spectrum SportsNet/570 AM, 710 AM