The Clippers face the short-handed Atlanta Hawks at home Sunday, a game that could be considered perfect timing. The team could use a breather.

The Clippers’ recent 5-in-7 stretch left them beaten in three of the games and bruised everywhere else.

James Harden remains questionable with a strained left shoulder. Norman Powell was on crutches after the New Orleans game Friday, after Terance Mann limped to the locker room before halftime.

Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are showing signs of wear, both sitting out the Clippers’ loss to Milwaukee last Sunday. Leonard also left the Minnesota game because of thoracic spasms after taking an elbow in his back the previous game against the Chicago Bulls.

Russell Westbrook is still out with a fractured left hand.

After Friday’s crucial loss to the Zion Williamson-led New Orleans Pelicans, the Clippers are looking for some positive vibes to get back on the upside and avoid losing their spot at No. 4 n the Western Conference standings. They are 4½ games out of first.

And if they are going to successfully navigate the final stretch, the Clippers, who have lost three of their past four, need to attack every game with consistent effort and discipline at both ends of the floor, and not just rely on their talent.

Last month, Leonard said the team needs to look at what they are doing and not doing “and try and get better at it before it starts getting real.”

It’s gotten real.

The 112-104 loss to the Pelicans left the Clippers (42-24) just two games ahead of New Orleans (40-26) with 16 games left to play in the regular season. They have not clinched a winning record against any of the other teams currently sitting among the top seven in the Western Conference.

Veteran P.J. Tucker has seen plenty in his 18 seasons and the one thing he has noticed about the Clippers recently is their lack of defensive effort. Like Leonard, he said he thinks the team depends too heavily on their offensive ability.

“I look to games like these, when it’s tough, where it’s physical to learn how to win these kinds of games,” Tucker told The Athletic in New Orleans. “(Games like these) you come back possession by possession, get stops, turn stops into points, score in the half court, get stops, lean on our defense.”

He added that come playoff time, the Clippers are going to need to get tough and “be able to lock in on game plans, we have to look at film, get better and pick up our physicality.”

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Sunday’s game at Crypto.com Arena gives the Clippers an opportunity to test Tucker’s theory. In their previous game, the Hawks were without Trae Young (finger) Onyeka Okongwu (sesamoiditis) and Kobe Bufkin (big toe).

Jalen Johnson returned from a sprained ankle and turned in a solid performance for Atlanta, but it wasn’t enough as the Hawks dropped their third straight to the Utah Jazz on Friday.

Atlanta at Clippers

When: 6:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV/radio: KTLA Ch. 5/AM 570 KLAC, KWKW 1330 AM