Chris Paul says Clippers have to get a ‘killer mentality’

The Clippers have blown double-digit leads in each of their games this season, most recently giving up a 15-point lead against the Utah Jazz on Monday.

So far, after giving up those leads, scrambling down the stretch has worked for them in three out of their four games to start the season -- their only loss being against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.

But Clippers point guard Chris Paul knowns that type of play is not sustainable.

“We can’t relax,” Paul said. “We have to get that killer mentality and we got to put teams away. Teams are way too good in this league, especially now, that they’re not going to give up. If we keep doing what we’re doing, they’re always going to feel like they can get back in the game.”

The Clippers have given up double-digit leads against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Lakers, the Kings and the Jazz. Even though they’ve won most of those games, Paul said he doesn’t want the Clippers to develop a reputation of not being able to hold onto big leads.

That, he said, gives teams confidence when they might otherwise give up.

“Sometimes when teams got back-to-backs, you get up 19, 20, they’ll be like, all right, we’ll try to get the win tomorrow night,” Paul said. “Teams are not going to do that against us if we keep letting teams back in the game, so we got to figure that out.”

The Clippers play the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.