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Clippers defense shows flashes of early season form

Clippers Coach Doc Rivers huddles with J.J. Redick, left, and Raymond Felton during a game against Phoenix on Jan. 2.
(Alex Gallardo / Associated Press)
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It was a question with no easy or obvious answer, as evidenced by J.J. Redick’s initial response to the query late Monday night.

“I don’t know,” the Clippers guard said, when asked why his team has been unable to recapture its early season defensive form, when the Clippers were one of the NBA’s stingiest teams. “I don’t know.

“I mean, you try to figure these things out. You talk to each guy. You have group discussions, team meetings. I don’t know what’s been wrong. The frustrating part to me is that we were a top five defense last year and have proven this year that we can be a top defense, and we’ve just been awful on that side of the ball.”

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Perhaps Monday night’s 109-98 win over the Phoenix Suns will be a small step in the right direction for the Clippers, who yielded only 40 second-half points, held the Suns to 38.2% (39 of 102) shooting for the game and blocked 11 shots, three by center DeAndre Jordan, to snap a six-game losing streak.

“They had a lot of transition buckets off our turnovers in the first half, and then, in the second half, we had unbelievable half-court defense,” Redick said. “It reminded me of earlier in the season when we were just flying around, covering for each other. Our rotations were phenomenal, as good as they’ve been in a couple of weeks.”

These kind of defensive efforts were the norm in the first month of the season, when the Clippers got off to a franchise-best 14-2 start. Through 18 games, the Clippers ranked second in the league in defensive efficiency, allowing 98.9 points per 100 possessions, and fourth in points allowed per game (97.4).

In 19 games since Nov. 29, the Clippers allowed an average of 108.1 points per 100 possessions and 108.2 points per game, dropping them to 10th in defensive efficiency (103.7 points per 100 possessions) and ninth in points allowed per game (102.9).

The Clippers had power forward Blake Griffin and a healthy point guard in Chris Paul for that first month. Griffin has been out since Dec. 20 because of right-knee surgery, and Paul, an NBA all-defensive first- team selection in each of the past five seasons, has missed six of seven games because of a left-hamstring injury.

The Clippers have missed both players on defense — they gave up an average of 110.5 points a game, including a season-high 140 points at Houston last Friday night, during the six-game losing streak — but they are learning to cope without the two stars.

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“Even when we made mistakes, we were flying around, and the energy was great,” veteran guard Jamal Crawford said after Monday night’s game. “We played for each other, and that’s what we have to do. You have to lean on each other more when you lose your top two guys. The margin for error is really slim.”

Jordan, who pulled down 20 of the Clippers’ 51 rebounds, thought the team’s defensive focus was better. After Phoenix trimmed a 19-point third-quarter deficit to six late in the game, the Clippers harassed the Suns into four missed shots and a turnover in the final minute.

“We were more attentive,” Jordan said. “Our talk was better. More importantly, we limited them to one shot when we got back. Our transition defense was pretty bad, but it was better [Monday night] than the few games we played on that trip.”

Transition defense has been a problem all season for the Clippers, who have allowed an average of 14.78 fastbreak points a game, the third-highest figure in the NBA. They were outscored, 88-10, in transition during the three-game trip and 159-50 in their last seven games, including 28-9 against the Suns.

The Clippers also rank 26th in fastbreak points with an average of 14.27 a game.

“Our transition offense has been bad, too,” guard Austin Rivers said. “We’re not getting stops. You have to get stops to get transition points. They go hand in hand. We gave up 140 points to a team on that last trip. How many transition points can you get when they’re scoring baskets all the time?”

Clippers

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VS. MEMPHIS

When: 7:30 p.m Wednesday.

Where: Staples Center.

On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 570, 1330.

Records: Clippers 23-14; Grizzlies 22-14 entering Tuesday.

Record vs. Grizzlies: 1-1.

Update: The January schedule is kinder to the Clippers, who play 12 games this month — none outside of California until Jan. 21 — after playing 17 games, including seven in the final 10 days, of December. They’ll also face a Memphis team that will be playing the second game of a back-to-back after Tuesday night’s game against the Lakers. ... Clippers point guard Chris Paul (left hamstring injury) was listed Tuesday as doubtful. Memphis entered Tuesday with the NBA’s best defensive efficiency rating, allowing 100.5 points per 100 possessions.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

Twitter: @MikeDiGiovanna

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