The Clippers aren’t particularly proficient scorers a lot of the time. In related news, they’re short on star power. What they can say for themselves: They’ll fight to the finish.

They couldn’t otherwise have come back from double-digits deficits 12 times in a season, including three that were 24 points or more.

Now if they could just finish a few more defensive stands.

This season’s comeback Clippers also have proved chronically generous, allowing their opponents 12 offensive rebounds per game going into Tuesday’s in Denver – more than any other team in the league. Their foes have taken advantage of it, averaging 14.8 second-chance points per contest, which is more than all but two teams give up.

“It’s really about effort,” veteran forward Nicolas Batum said Monday. “I mean, we play small sometimes, but we don’t even need to work on it, actually. You don’t have to. It’s really, like, who wants it more.

“Sometimes, you can watch videos and see what happened on the weak end. But on the court, you gotta crash for it. You can’t let the other guys grab a rebound. That’s it.”

But this isn’t a team that gives up easily – so, what gives?

“Yes, I know,” Batum said. “I mean, sometimes we do some great defensive sequences, but we don’t finish it.”

Paul George is the Clippers’ leading defensive rebounder (averaging 6.7 this season), but the seven-time All-Star wing hasn’t played since Dec. 22, of course.

Entering play Tuesday, Ivica Zubac – the Clippers’ starting 7-foot center – was averaging 5.1 per game (and had a 22.4% defensive rebounding percentage, which is the estimate of percentage of opponents’ misses he grabs). Backup 7-foot center Isaiah Hartenstein was averaging three defensive boards for a 15.5% defensive rebounding percentage. Those percentages rank 44th and 172nd.

But giving up offensive boards is a team effort, Coach Tyronn Lue would say, describing it as a residual of the Clippers’ other defenders being beaten. When that happens, it pulls Zubac and Hartenstein away from the basket to help, and that can prove especially costly against a dominant center such as Rudy Gobert.

Utah’s All-Star center is averaging 3.6 offensive rebounds per game, but six per contest against the Clippers after he grabbed a season-high eight offensive boards in Utah’s 121-92 win over them last week in Salt Lake City.

“The first thing we have to do is take the one-on-one challenge,” Lue said, via Zoom, from Utah. “When we’re getting beat off the dribble easily that means Isaiah and Zu have to come over to help block shots and now Rudy’s on the glass … because we’re not playing real one-on-one defense at the point of attack.”

Said Zubac: “If you want to contest that floater or midrange shot, it makes you to make the decision. And even if they shoot it over you, you leave Rudy going against the smaller guys on the boards. So it just puts you in a tough spot.”

The Clippers had an opportunity to rebound from last week’s woeful performance on the defensive boards Tuesday against another of the league’s top rebounders, reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic.

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Like Gobert, Jokic was averaging six offensive rebounds through three games against the Clippers, well more than his 2.8 per game overall season average – a trend that’s helped the Nuggets to 17.7 second-chance points per game against L.A.

The key for the don’t-quit Clippers? “We’ve got,” Batum said, “to finish plays.”

INJURY UPDATE

Chris Haynes provided a brief injury update for TNT’s audience early in Tuesday’s game, although he was unable to shed any new light on Kawhi Leonard’s plans as the Clippers forward works his way back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

“Kawhi Leonard is progressing nicely,” Haynes said. “But sources say a decision has not been made on whether he will return this season or not.”

Haynes also noted that Norman Powell (foot) is expected to return before the end of the regular season and that George (elbow) has “gradually progressed” and is playing four-on-four with assistant coaches, which Lue discussed at practice Monday.