Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 111-102 loss to the Pacers

The Clippers fell to the Pacers, 111-102, at Staples Center on Sunday night. The defeat was the Clippers’ fourth in six games after they started the season 14-2. Below are five takeaways from the action.

1. Tale of two spurts

The Clippers led by as many as 15 points in the first quarter and held an 11-point lead going into the second.

But their second unit — which mostly has been made up of Raymond Felton, Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, Paul Pierce and Marreese Speights as of late — slowed the pace down at the start of the second quarter. They also allowed the Pacers to find a groove offensively, and that led to a lackluster 12 minutes that eased the Pacers back into the game by halftime.

The Clippers’ sloppy play then trickled into the third. The Pacers started the second half on a 19-2 run, and the Clippers never fully recovered despite cutting the deficit to four down the stretch.

“I thought that six-minute stretch to begin the second quarter hurt us and then I thought the first six minutes in the third quarter destroyed us,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said. “And I thought those two stretches were the difference in the game.”

2. Different states

The Clippers lost to the Pacers, 91-70, in Indiana on Nov. 27. That was the third of a six-game road trip the Clippers just returned from, which means they played three times in the seven days since the last matchup.

The Pacers, on the other hand, played just once in the week between the two meetings.

Rivers said that, with a one-day turnaround after traveling back to Los Angeles, the Clippers considered Sunday as the seventh game of a trying road swing. They did not use fatigue as an excuse for the loss, but there was acknowledgment that the differing schedules could have played a hand in the result.

“I think that has something to do with it. But we’ve got to be better,” Clippers forward Blake Griffin said. “We can’t just blame losses on that. We got to be able to find energy.”

3. Turned over

Twice this season the Clippers have finished with more turnovers than assists. Both times have been against the Pacers, who rank first in the league in turnovers forced per game.

The Clippers finished with 20 turnovers on Sunday (the same total as the teams’ previous matchup) and notched 19 assists.

The Pacers finished with 21 assists and just nine turnovers, which helped them have seven players — including all of their starters — score 10 or more points. The Clippers had four players score in double-figures, and were led by Griffin’s 24 points and 16 rebounds.

“I had like three [turnovers] in the first two, three minutes,” Clippers point guard Chris Paul said. “And they did a good job of pressuring, trying to make us uncomfortable.”

4. Looking for a spark

There were two standard lineups for the Clippers against the Pacers: The starters, and Rivers’ late-game lineup of Paul, J.J. Redick, Jamal Crawford, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

Other than that, Rivers spent the whole game trying to find a combination that would breathe some life into his tired team. He tried the second unit with Pierce and then replaced Pierce with Wesley Johnson, who was part of the group to start the season, in the second half. He rolled out a rare four-guard lineup with Paul, Redick, Crawford, Austin Rivers and Jordan at one point in the fourth.

None of it did the trick.

“We were just searching for anything to give us energy,” Rivers said.

5. They made it

The Clippers have not had back-to-back off days since the two days between their first and second games of the season. The six-week stretch has otherwise been filled with travel days, one-day rests and back-to-backs.

That will change this week, as the team will not play on Monday or Tuesday. The Clippers will take Monday off before practicing in Playa Vista on Tuesday.

The opportunity to rest comes at a perfect time. The Warriors and their NBA-best 17-3 record visit the Clippers on Wednesday.

jesse.dougherty@latimes.com

Twitter: @dougherty_jesse