Clippers seek ‘kill mentality’ as playoffs near

Inside a quiet, victorious Clippers locker room at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, the phrase tossed around late Thursday night was “kill mentality.”

And the question was whether or not the Clippers have it.

They didn’t show it against the depleted Suns. Or in a loss in which they blew an 18-point lead to Sacramento, or in a loss to Dallas in which the Clippers let a winnable game get away, or much at all lately as the regular season edges to its conclusion.

The playoffs are about two weeks away for the Clippers and the thought of Thursday night was whether the team could summon a kill mentality at will.

“No, you’ve got to have it. You got to have it,” Clippers center DeAndre Jordan repeated Thursday night. “Maybe it’s something you can learn. I don’t believe so.”

Jordan then was asked, do the Clippers have that mentality?

“I would hope so. I would hope so,” Jordan responded. “If not, it’s going to be an early exit.”

That would be an early exit from the playoffs.

Jordan said he has a kill mentality. “But as a team, it takes all of us,” he added. “But, yeah, I do. But we’ll find out. That’s for damn sure.”

The idea of being able to finish games became a topic when Chris Paul was asked where the Clippers stand with five regular-season games left.

The Clippers haven’t quite been killing it on the court these days, going 11-10 since the All-Star break.

“We’re still have a ways to go, but we’re right on the brink of it,” Paul said Thursday night. “I think that’s what it’s telling us. We’re capable of it. We know what to do. We just got to do it.”

Even in the games the Clippers have won, they have lost leads.

Maybe, it was suggested to Paul, this team losses its focus at times.

“It can be,” Paul said. “You can never get too comfortable. And that’s just always having that kill mentality and keeping your foot on the gas. Paying attention to detail, knowing that teams are not going to give up.”

In the Clippers’ eyes, they still have time to reclaim the mentality they once had earlier this season when they were 14-2.

“Definitely need to capture that,” Paul said. “I’ve got to do a better job of making sure we do that.”

Rest coming for Clippers

After playing the Lakers Saturday afternoon in their home game at Staples Center, the Clippers will have three days off before they play again.

They played 18 games in 30 days during the month of March, leaving the Clippers fatigued.

“I’m excited about it. I’m excited about it,” Paul said. “First, we’ve got Saturday. But much needed rest. I’m all for it. I’m going to play when we’ve got the games.”

Up next

CLIPPERS VS LAKERS

When: 12:30 p.m.

Where: Staples Center.

On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Spectrum SportsNet; Spectrum Deportes; Radio: 570, 1330, 710.

Records: Clippers 46-31; Lakers 21-54.

Records vs. Lakers: Clippers 2-1.

Update: The Clippers won their two games over the Lakers by an average of 20 points per game. The Clippers have defeated the Lakers 17 of their last 19 games, winning those games by an average of 15.7 points per game. The Lakers have lost nine of their last 10 games, 17 of 19.

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Follow Broderick Turner on Twitter @BA_Turner