After four losses in a row, Clippers know they must be better in fourth period

As the losses have begun to mount, a level of frustration has crept into the Clippers’ midst.

After their losing streak reached a season-high four games Wednesday night at New Orleans, there was stillness inside the Clippers’ locker room at the Smoothie King Center.

All were quiet when they dressed after the game, their thoughts on how they could stop the losing with a very good Houston Rockets team on the horizon Friday night.

“When you’re on a really good team, you lose a few in a row, or a couple in a row, and it feels like it’s the end of the world in some ways — even though it’s not. You know what I mean?” Jamal Crawford said. “You don’t want to get used to that. And [the loss to New Orleans] reminded me of how hard it is to win every single night.”

Three of the losses came with point guard Chris Paul sitting out because of a strained left hamstring, two with shooting guard J.J. Redick out because of a sore left hamstring that still has him listed as questionable for the Rockets game, and all of them with forward Blake Griffin out recovering from right knee surgery.

So the injuries are part of the equation.

Paul returned for the game at New Orleans, but he didn’t play in the final 13.6 seconds because of a 30-minute playing restriction.

He said his hamstring held up, but Paul also knew he still had hurdles to clear.

“I think [Thursday] will be the huge test to see how I feel,” Paul said Wednesday night. “But I think it’ll be all right.”

The common thread in the losses is the Clippers’ failure to perform at an optimum level in the fourth quarter.

They had a one-point lead entering the fourth against the Pelicans, a seven-point lead in the fourth against Denver, trimmed an 18-point deficit to four points in the fourth before losing to the Lakers and a five-point lead in the fourth against Dallas.

“I think we’ve got to execute down the stretch,” guard Austin Rivers said. “I think all of our losses have come the last five, six minutes of the game. We’ve got to be a better fourth-quarter team.”

With the talent the Clippers have, Rivers is in disbelief that they’ve been so unsuccessful lately.

“Yeah, it is surprising with the players that we have,” Rivers said. “So we’ll fix it. I’m not worried. I know that. I don’t think any of us are worried. We know what we’re doing wrong. We are going to fix it. We’ll be fine.”

“We’ve got to find a way,” Paul said. “But all in all, I think we’re going to be OK. It’s crazy, but I’m thinking big picture. At the end of the day, we want to be healthy at the right time. We know we’ve got to win games. We’ve just got to try to be better.”

UP NEXT

CLIPPERS AT HOUSTON ROCKETS

When: 5:00 p.m. PST.

Where: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas.

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

Records: Clippers 22-12; Rockets 24-9.

Records vs. Rockets: Clippers 2-2 (2015-16 season).

Update: Before Thursday’s games, James Harden was fourth in the NBA in scoring (27.7 points per game), first in assists (11.9) and tied for first in double-doubles (26). The Rockets are second in the league in scoring, averaging 113.8 points per game. They are first in three-point attempts (39.2) and makes (14.9).

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @BA_Turner