The Clippers hold off Toronto and get their fourth win in a row

The Clippers played four games in seven days. In 10 games this season, they have played three sets in a row.

Before Saturday’s game against the Toronto Raptors, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue told his players that they couldn’t afford to dwell on their circumstances.

Despite blowing a 14-point lead, the Clippers put Lue’s words into action, defeating James Harden and Norman Powell, who missed crucial free throws down the stretch, with a 105-103 win at the Intuit Dome that extended their winning streak to four Games extended.

Harden had 24 points but missed a free throw with 28.7 seconds left, forcing the Clippers to cling to a two-point lead.

Powell had 24 points but missed a free throw with 35.5 seconds left. Then he missed another goal with 8.1 seconds left, leaving the game down to one possession.

But the Clippers held on after Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl missed a 9-foot toss with 4.1 seconds left.

Before the game, Lue encouraged his players to continue playing great defense and taking better care of the basketball.

“Just being mentally strong,” Lue said. “I can’t give in to fatigue. You can’t give in to the schedule. Just take it one game at a time.”

Although the Clippers are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, Lue said they would be better if they didn’t allow transition points through turnovers.

Since Saturday’s start, the Clippers have allowed an average of 106.7 points per game, the second-best mark in the NBA. The Clippers rank fourth in defensive rating (107.9).

But the Clippers also record 16.3 turnovers per game, which, together with Toronto, is the second-worst record in the league that begins on Saturday.

“If we just worry about basketball, I think we’ll be able to win games on a lot of nights because we’re scoring,” Lue said. “But when you have 19 or 20 turnovers every night, it’s hard to win those games because you have to have elite defense, which has been the case so far. But we can’t continue to compromise our defense every night and turn the ball over so teams can come out and easily score points in transition. … If we get to that range of 10, 12, then we’re a different team.”

The Clippers turned the ball over 12 times against the Raptors.

And they built a double-digit lead for the tenth straight game – and once again the Clippers let that lead slip away.

Etc: Lue was asked whether Kawhi Leonard, who has not played this season because of inflammation in his right knee, would travel with the Clippers for their three-game trip that begins Monday against Oklahoma City. He was brief with his answer.

“Uh, no,” Lue said.