Injuries mount and so do the losses for the Clippers

The injuries have begun to take a toll on the Clippers. The defense that was once mighty has yet to be rediscovered. The wins have become hard to come by.

The weight of it all proved to be too much for the Clippers yet again Monday night, pulling them down in a 106-102 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the second of back-to-back games at Staples Center.

Though the Clippers surged to a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter after trailing by 17 at halftime, they couldn’t close out a game that left them with a three-game losing streak and an 8-9 record in their last 17 games.

Not having point guard Chris Paul (strained left hamstring) for the third consecutive game and shooting guard J.J. Redick (sore left hamstring) was too much for the Clippers to overcome. They had begun last week knowing power forward Blake Griffin was going to be out three to six weeks after having right knee surgery last Tuesday.

That left the Clippers with 11 healthy bodies trying to navigate through four games in five days while playing without their three leading scorers, who combine to average 54.2 points per game.

“When you don’t have your top three scorers, you can’t put yourself in a 16-point hole and think you’re going to win the game,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said. “We still got a lead and almost still won the game. But I thought getting ourselves out of that hole came back and haunted us down the stretch.”

The Clippers have one of the deepest benches in the NBA, but the injuries have affected that depth. They had to start subs Austin Rivers (19 points) and Jamal Crawford (24 points) in the backcourt Monday.

Wesley Johnson, normally a role player off the bench, started at forward in place of Paul Pierce, who had been starting for Griffin. And on top of all that, guard Raymond Felton was trying to play through illness for the second straight game.

All of them played heavy minutes, the Clippers eventually succumbing after Nikola Jokic broke a 95-95 tie with a three-pointer. That was followed by a Will Barton lob dunk for a five-point lead, and the Nuggets stayed ahead to the finish.

With Austin Rivers playing 42 minutes, Crawford nearly 35, Luc Mbah a Moute 32 and Felton almost 31, the Clippers grew tired.

“I really wanted that one bad because we have a lot of guys out,” Austin Rivers said.

Playing Denver for the second time in six nights, the Clippers found themselves in scramble mode to get players on the court.

“Well, yeah, that’s what you have to do, try to form a game plan and turn it into an individual game, not a like a season plan,” Doc Rivers said before the game. “When you have injuries like this, you focus on how to get through this game, and then you focus on the next game and see who you have on the floor. ”

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @BA_Turner