Clippers’ loss to Suns is part of a pattern

The whistle blew and Doc Rivers waved his arms in disbelief.

Blake Griffin had been ejected late in the second quarter Thursday night after picking up his second technical foul and suddenly the Clippers coach found himself without three of his regular starters against the Phoenix Suns.

“That’s terrible!” Rivers yelled at the officials. “Nobody came to see you!”

There wasn’t much left to see when it came to the Clippers’ top players. Griffin’s ejection further depleted a team already missing Chris Paul because of lingering discomfort from a strained right groin and J.J. Redick because of back spasms.

The rest of the game had a predictable feel as what was left of the Clippers was outclassed during a 118-104 defeat at Talking Stick Resort Arena that handed them a fourth loss in five games after a 4-0 start.

Griffin put himself in danger of being ejected after officials called offsetting technical fouls on the Clippers forward and the Suns’ Mirza Teletovic midway through the second quarter.

Griffin then received his second technical with 2 minutes 36 seconds left before halftime for complaining about a non-call on what he thought was a foul on his layup that pulled the Clippers to within 49-48.

“I just thought it was awful,” Rivers said of the second technical. “I mean, the play before us, Bled [Eric Bledsoe] takes his mouthpiece out and throws it and yells. I mean, it’s a tough one. Not because we already had two guys out, but you just wonder, Blake Griffin” getting ejected?

Phoenix outscored the Clippers, 9-1, the rest of the half and the rout was on as the Suns built second-half leads as large as 25 points.

The Clippers’ search for offensive firepower was futile after Griffin departed with 11 points, four assists and three rebounds in 16 minutes. Griffin, Paul and Redick entered the game as the team’s top three scorers, averaging a combined 58.1 points per game.

Griffin departed the locker room without speaking to reporters.

Guard Jamal Crawford scored 18 points for the Clippers, who allowed Phoenix to make 53% of its shots and seemingly score at will on the way to 60 second-half points.

1/10

Suns guard Eric Bledsoe draws the offensive foul on Clippers guard Jamal Crawford in the second quarter.

  (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

2/10

Clippers forward Lance Stephenson drives past Suns center Alex Len for a layup in the second quarter of their game Thursday night in Phoenix.

  (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

3/10

Clippers forward Blake Griffin reacts after being ejected for his second technical foul in the second quarter.

  (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

4/10

Clippers guard Pablo Prigioni tries to score on a drive against Suns forward P.J. Tucker in the first quarter.

  (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

5/10

Clippers Coach Doc Rivers gets ready to diagram a play during a timeout Thursday night in Phoenix.

  (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

6/10

Clippers forward Luc Mbah a Moute gets tangled with Suns forward Jon Leuer as they scramble for a loose ball in the third quarter.

  (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

7/10

Clippers forward Lance Stephenson drives down the lane against the Suns on Thursday night.

  (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

8/10

Suns forward Mirza Teletovic makes a pass while defended by Clippers forward Wesley Johnson and guard Pablo Prigioni in the third quarter.

  (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

9/10

Suns forward T.J. Warren drives past Clippers center Cole Aldrich for a layup in the third quarter.

  (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

10/10

Suns forward Jon Leuer tries to drive past Clippers forward Wesley Johnson in the fourth quarter.

  (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

The Suns’ backcourt duo of Brandon Knight (37 points) and Bledsoe (26) met little resistance without Paul and Redick around to try to stop them.

Rivers said he held Paul out because he didn’t like the way he was moving Wednesday against the Dallas Mavericks and probably would hold both Paul and Redick out Saturday against the Detroit Pistons.

Austin Rivers, who joined Pablo Prigioni as fill-in starters, said the Clippers had “a bad spirit” against the Suns.

“I pride myself on playing defense and being a defensive stopper and my man had 30 points,” said Rivers, who scored 11 points on four-for-12 shooting. “Chris being out, it was a chance to step in and lead and I didn’t do that. So it was disappointing. We have a bad taste in our mouth right now, so I hope [Friday] can go by fast so we can play Saturday.”

Paul has not resembled his All-Star form in the season’s early going, largely as a result of a broken finger he suffered in the preseason that was compounded by the groin injury and getting poked in the eye against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

“It probably is all of those,” Doc Rivers said before the game. “The finger definitely bothers him. The groin obviously bothers him. Getting poked in the eye is no fun.”

Phoenix also had a few injury issues as forward Markieff Morris left the game in the first quarter because of with a sprained left knee and guard Ronnie Price departed in the second quarter because of a concussion. Neither player returned.

On this night, the Suns still had more than enough.

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch