CLIPPERS LAMENT GAME 5 COLLAPSE

They aren’t getting bench production they usually receive

It was just after 3 p.m. Saturday when the Clippers began reviewing their Game 5 loss to Denver from the previous night. Coach Doc Rivers warned the film session could run longer than usual.

“If I had clipped every clip our coaches wanted me to clip, we would’ve gone straight to the game tomorrow,” Rivers said.

Almost 90 minutes later, film review ended. Its duration was a reminder of all the reasons why this Western Conference semifinal playoff series has not.

Two trends extended during the Clippers’ 111-105 loss Friday. They can be their own worst enemy after building a double-digit lead; and the Nuggets, who have already overcome one 3-1 series deficit this postseason, have been at their most dangerous when their odds appear bleakest.

“We’re just relaxed and had fun, we have nothing to lose,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Everybody’s written us off.”

There were stretches Friday when that group seemingly included the Clippers, who stopped cutting hard, defending and rebounding the way they can, forward Marcus Morris Sr. said.

“We should have put that game away,” Morris said. “We should have stuck to what we were doing, and that’s been one of our Achilles’ heels, just kind of messing with the game when we get up. To get to where we’re trying to get to, and that’s being champions, we have to be better. That has nothing to do with coaching. That’s on the players. We’ve talked a lot that we have to be better.

“Our goal is to win a championship. With good teams, once we’ve got them ... we’ve got to put them away.”