Takeaways from the Clippers’ 133-120 loss to the Warriors

If the NBA championship runs through Golden State, then it’s clear the Warriors will present a formidable road block for the Clippers, who have lost nine straight games to their Northern California rivals dating to March 8, 2015. Here are five things we learned from their 133-120 loss to Golden State Thursday night:

1. It seems outlandish to say this about a game in the NBA, where outcomes are rarely decided before the fourth quarter, but this one was essentially over in the first minute and a half, when the Clippers turned the ball over on their first four possessions.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry pick-pocketed J.J. Redick, and Golden State forward Kevin Durant dunked on the other end. Curry left his man (Raymond Felton) for a sneak-attack on Blake Griffin in the low post, ripped the ball out of Griffin’s hands, and JaVale McGee tipped in a basket on the other end.

Austin Rivers lost control of his dribble, Patrick McCaw stole the ball, and Durant made two free throws for a 6-0 lead with 10 minutes 31 seconds left in the first quarter. Rivers turned the ball over again on the Clippers’ next possesion, but Golden State gave it right back.

An early six-point deficit is hardly insurmountable, but the opening blitz set the tone for a game in which the Warriors — once again — imposed their will on the Clippers, strengthening their psychological edge over them.

Golden State built a 21-point lead early in the fourth quarter, which allowed it to withstand a late run in which the Clippers cut the lead to seven with 1:55 left before Durant and Klay Thompson hit two big three-pointers.

“Listen, it’s my job to get our guys ready, but I thought [the Warriors] came out far more into the game or ready to play,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said. “I thought they attacked us. Our turnovers were deflating early on. … I was disappointed in our preparation on both sides. Obviously I could have done something better too.”

2. The common thread in the Clippers losing five of their last seven games is inconsistency on defense. The Clippers have been one of the league’s best defensive teams for stretches of the season, but they’ve allowed an average of 120.6 points in the last seven games.

Golden State grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, many of them long caroms after missed three-pointers, and got far too many open looks at the basket. The Warriors’ ball movement — they had 38 assists — wore down the Clippers in the second half, and their head fakes on the perimeter as defenders flew by opened up driving lanes all night.

Doc Rivers said a lack of weak-side help has been the biggest issue, and playing Golden State in the second game of a back-to-back further exposed the problem.

“We have to be more organized when we play them,” Clippers guard J.J. Redick said. “They don’t really run a lot of plays, it’s just a lot of movement. On the weak side, a lot of their movements sort of distract you from what’s going on on the ball, and because they switch, we tend to kind of play at random. I think we’re better when we execute.”

It’s no coincidence that the defensive struggles began when Chris Paul, one of the NBA’s best-defending guards, tore a ligament in his left thumb on Jan. 16.

“When you have a guy out like Chris, you don’t have a margin for error,” Rivers said. “Right now, we’re allowing teams to score too many points.”

3. If there were any lingering doubts that Griffin might have lost some of his explosiveness because of the Dec. 20 right-knee surgery that sidelined him for a month, they were erased with his authoritative dunk just before halftime.

Griffin took a pick-and-roll pass from Redick near the left elbow and soared over Kevon Looney for a right-handed, tomahawk slam, placing his left hand on Looney’s head and essentially jumping over the Golden State forward. Griffin had 31 points in the game.

“I loved how he played, I loved his pace and how he attacked the basket,” Rivers said of Griffin. “So that part was good. You find something positive from the game, and that was the only thing.”

Griffin said he is still trying to find the right balance between being aggressive and spacing the floor and trying to make plays.

“It’s a never-ending struggle,” he said. “You don’t have the perfect formula for each game; you just try to read each game and figure out the situation. Sometimes it’s not your night. Sometimes it’s the other guys’ night. I think being aggressive doesn’t always mean going to score. It’s just using that aggression to get to the hole, draw defenders, kick out, be a playmaker, everything.”

4. Felton, the Clippers’ 6-foot-1, 205-pound point guard, is one tough dude. He held Curry to five points in the first quarter and 12 in the first half before Curry found more space in the second half and finished with 29 points.

Felton often found himself guarding the 6-9 Durant on defensive switches, but that didn’t stop Felton from thrusting his body into the bigger opponent and muscling up against him on the perimeter.

Felton also took an elbow to the face from Durant and ran almost full speed into a brick wall of a pick set by McGee, the 7-0, 270-pound center, in the third quarter, the second hit knocking Felton to the floor. But Felton, who has been battling an assortment of injuries, including one to his right shoulder, stayed in the game.

“Ray is taking a beating every night,” Rivers said. “He’s banged up, but he can play, and right now, with the injuries, we need him. … He plays football-basketball. Ray is a physical dude for a guard. Like, he punishes you when you play against him.”

5. The Clippers miss Paul, a playmaking and defensive whiz, on both ends of the court. They are 7-17 in games Paul has missed in the last two seasons and 79-35 (.693) in games Paul has played.

“I think we’re figuring out how to play without a guy who has the ball in his hands probably 80% of the time on offense,” Griffin said, “so that changes a lot of things for us.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

@MikeDiGiovanna