Lakers aren’t on the level in win over Clippers

He warned his Lakers about the pitfalls of playing down to the level of a Clippers team that has the third-worst record in the NBA.

He cautioned his Lakers about being prepared to play a Clippers team that is going nowhere this season but just might play inspired basketball anyway against its city rivals.

Did the Lakers listen to Coach Phil Jackson?

No, and Jackson vehemently voiced his displeasure over the approach the Lakers took, after they blew a big lead in the fourth quarter and had to escape with an 88-85 victory at Staples Center on Sunday night over a Clippers team headed back to the lottery yet again.

Jackson walked into the interview after the game, after his team blew nearly all of a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter, after the Lakers improved to 61-16 and remained one game behind Cleveland for the best record in the NBA. He plopped down in his chair and gave a terse statement that lasted 33 seconds.

“I don’t think I’m going to entertain questions tonight,” Jackson began. “I’m just going to tell you that I’m not happy with the ballgame, that we didn’t do the game plan the right way. As a consequence, we got mired into this thing at the end. But we were able to prevail.”

The Lakers did that because they played all-out defense when it mattered most, coming up with the final stop when Baron Davis missed a potential tying three-point shot with Trevor Ariza hounding him.

“Can’t give up leads like that,” Ariza said. “We’ve been doing it and if we keep doing it in the playoffs, it’s going to come back to bite us.”

It was a pattern the Lakers had developed earlier this season, one they apparently have not gotten over.

The Lakers, who were held under 100 points for the fourth time in five games, built an 81-62 lead with 7:02 left. Starters Kobe Bryant (18 points on five-for-15 shooting), Lamar Odom (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Derek Fisher (three points and a sore left foot) were all on the bench resting, ice packs on their knees.

When it was sliced to 13 points with 4:50 left, Jackson was forced to bring back Bryant and Odom.

When the Clippers cut it to 10 points after a Fred Jones three-pointer, Jackson called a timeout and brought back Fisher and Ariza.

That still didn’t stop the Lakers from hemorrhaging.

The now-confident Clippers pushed on, closing to within 83-82 with 1:09 left on two free throws by Eric Gordon (24 points) after a foul by Odom, who was losing his composure as the Lakers were coming undone.

The Lakers went ahead, 87-82, but Gordon came up big again, drilling a three-pointer with Bryant in his face to pull the Clippers to within 87-85 with 5.8 seconds left.

When Fisher made just one of two free throws with 5.2 seconds left for an 88-85 lead, the Lakers had left the door open yet again.

Not until Davis missed his tough, leaning three-point attempt did the Lakers secure a win that completed a sweep of the season series against the Clippers for the second consecutive year.

“I thought it was a good game,” Davis said. “It was about time we stood up and started fighting back and pushing back against a team that’s a well-oiled machine. We were close, a couple of missed shots here and there.”

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broderick.turner@latimes.com