Chris Paul decides to sit out Clippers game after all

The moment arrived early Sunday afternoon and Chris Paul decided he was going to play for the Clippers against the Lakers on Christmas night, telling Coach Doc Rivers that his strained left hamstring was OK.

Then after sitting in his locker before the game was scheduled to start, Paul decided his hamstring wasn’t ready, so he decided to sit out his second straight game since injuring the hamstring against the San Antonio Spurs last Thursday night.

Paul had worked out at the Clippers facility Saturday, and it was then that Rivers said “it was pretty much decided yesterday” that his All-Star point guard would play.

“He played one-on-ones and got a great workout and went 100%,” Rivers said before the game and before Paul changed his mind. “That was my whole thing.”

Before the game, Paul could be seen working out on the court, shooting jumpers and jogging some. Jasen Powell, the Clippers’ director of medical services and head athletic trainer, closely monitored Paul.

The two then had a long talk in the hallway outside of the Clippers’ locker room. While at his locker, Paul told Powell he didn’t want to test the hamstring.

Rivers admitted before the game that hamstrings are tricky.

“His body will tell you anyway,” Rivers said. “This is one of the things you trust the medical staff and you just play.”

The Clippers play the Denver Nuggets on Monday night at Staples Center. The Clippers are playing five games in seven days this week.

Tough Clippers losses

Of the 10 losses the Clippers have suffered this season, seven have been against teams with records below .500. Actually, it’s just six teams, because the Clippers have lost to the Indiana Pacers (15-16) twice.

Rivers, however, doesn’t see that as a big issue, probably because the Clippers are 7-7 in their last 14 games after losing to the Lakers.

“There’s no common thread to it,” Rivers said. “They’re all in the stretch that we’ve been struggling. Maybe it’s good we weren’t playing great teams because we would have lost those games too. So, it’s just what it was. A lot of them were road games in that stretch and we were coming off the road. We had a lot of games in a row. So, I don’t over-analyze this.”

Etc.

Clippers forward Blake Griffin attended the game Sunday, his first appearance since having right knee surgery last Tuesday.

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @BA_Turner