Clippers Make Most Out of the Situation

Elton who?

Maybe it’s not quite to that point for the Clippers, but they’ve done well in the last two games while leading scorer and rebounder Elton Brand has been sidelined, and Chris Kaman helped make things a little easier for them Saturday night in a 98-72 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics at Staples Center.

Kaman became the Clippers’ focal point in the paint, matching his career high with 25 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

It was the type of performance Brand delivers nightly, and Kaman was pleased to succeed in a leading role.

“With Elton out, I knew I would be playing a few more minutes, I’d have to give a little more offensively, and tonight I was able to do that,” said Kaman, who averages 10.7 points and 8.9 rebounds.

“I’d much rather have Elton play. Elton is a big guy with a bigger body. When you have two big guys inside, it’s a lot different.”

Point guard Sam Cassell helped from the perimeter, scoring 24 points with six assists. The Clippers (19-14) also had a balanced attack on offense to help compensate for the loss of Brand.

Guard Cuttino Mobley scored 14 points and played well on defense against Seattle forward Rashard Lewis, who scored a team-high 22 points but had to work hard.

Guard Quinton Ross scored 10 points off the bench and rookie forward James Singleton, who started for Brand, contributed eight points and 10 rebounds.

The SuperSonics (15-22) played without suspended All-Star guard Ray Allen, but with the problems the Clippers have had recently, they’ll take any help they can get.

“We were without Elton, so we wanted to try to set the tempo of the game,” said Coach Mike Dunleavy, whose team has won its last two games after dropping nine of 12.

“I thought we did a pretty good job of trying to establish our low-post game with Chris Kaman. He gave us great results down there.”

Brand is sidelined indefinitely because of a bruised right hip, second-leading scorer Corey Maggette’s left foot remained in a cast and Ron Artest’s rights still belonged to the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers on Thursday rejected a proposed trade that would have brought Artest to the Clippers for Maggette, but Kaman was available to help Saturday and did.

“Kaman is a nice player,” Seattle Coach Bob Hill said. “Mike is doing the right thing force-feeding him and getting him more confident as time progresses. He’s a legitimate big.”

Kaman started fast, making four of five shots and scoring nine points in the first quarter. Mobley and Kaman sparked a 16-0 run (Mobley scored eight points and Kaman contributed five) that put the Clippers ahead, 39-22, with 6:24 left in the first half.

The Clippers led, 50-40, at halftime as Kaman had 21 points and six rebounds. The SuperSonics trailed by as many as 18 in the third quarter and Kaman made 10 of 12 shots overall.

Singleton also helped inside.

Dunleavy has tried to find good matchups for Singleton, who has struggled as a small forward but has impressed at times while playing power forward. Singleton had a 14-point, 10-rebound performance in a season-opening 101-93 victory over Seattle at Key Arena, so Dunleavy put him in the opening lineup Saturday ahead of Chris Wilcox, who started in place of Brand in Tuesday’s victory over the Orlando Magic.

Good move.

“Believe me, we understand that matchup,” Dunleavy said. “He does a very good job there. We’re trying to expand his role a little bit offensively. We got him a couple of post-up opportunities in the second half.

“It’s just a matter of him getting his confidence. He shoots the ball pretty well.”