Clippers Coach Doc Rivers stays positive after loss to Atlanta Hawks

After falling to the Atlanta Hawks, 107-98, Clippers Coach Doc Rivers took more than 20 minutes after the game ended to address the media.

He said he was having a meeting with a couple of the players.

“We don’t like losing,” Rivers said. “When we lose a game, we’re pissed by it, but we talk about it. I had a talk with a couple guys.”

Rivers, however, did not blow the loss against the top team in the Eastern Conference, which has won 19 of its last 21 games, out of proportion.

Even though the Clippers allowed the Hawks to make 13 of 27 three-point attempts, Rivers said he wasn’t concerned about the team’s defense.

“I thought our defense was good, honestly,” Rivers said. “First half, our defense was spectacular. We lost the game because we turned the ball over and they made easy shots.”

The Clippers (23-12) are in sixth place in the Western Conference, 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Golden State Warriors.

Rivers intimated that he’s not so concerned with these individual losses, saying that as long as the Clippers make the playoffs, they have a legitimate shot at winning the championship.

“I don’t like using history,” Rivers said. “But I think the Spurs had the worst win-loss record against their opponents going into the playoffs last year.”

The Spurs, of course, went on to win the NBA championship.