Chris Kaman gets 21 points and 11 rebounds as Clippers beat Bulls 90-82 to snap 4-game skid

Kaman’s return sparks Clippers in win over Bulls

CHICAGO — Chris Kaman had 21 points and 11 rebounds in his return from injury and Eric Gordon scored 24 points Tuesday night as the Los Angeles Clippers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 90-82 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Back home after finishing a long road trip with five impressive victories over good Western Conference teams, the Bulls shot 38 percent and committed 20 turnovers in losing to the last club to beat them — the struggling Clippers.

Luol Deng scored 16 of his 18 points in the first quarter and Derrick Rose had 16 for Chicago, which fell back to .500 at 23-23. The Bulls have lost eight of their last 11 to the Clippers at the United Center.

Kaman, one of only three NBA players averaging 20 points and nine rebounds, missed the previous two games with a sprained ankle — and Los Angeles never held a lead in either lopsided defeat.

The Clippers had been 1-5 since beating the Bulls on Jan. 20 — including losses to woeful New Jersey and Minnesota teams.

They led only 64-58 late in the third quarter before using a 14-2 run to take control. Gordon capped the spurt with five points.

The Bulls pulled to 80-70 midway through the fourth before Gordon hit a 3-pointer and Kaman made a 12-footer. And after Chicago closed to 85-74, Rasual Butler made a 3-pointer and Baron Davis hit a 20-footer for a 90-74 lead.

The Clippers, who won for only the second time in their last 14 road games, are 10-2 with the lineup of Kaman, Gordon, Davis, Butler and Marcus Camby.

Deng made his first five shots, including two 3-pointers, and personally gave the Bulls a 12-8 lead.

Kaman had eight points in the first quarter to put the Clippers up 31-26. Without their center the previous two games, they were outscored 80-40 in the first quarter.

Butler hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer for a 50-42 lead.

NOTES: With Rose selected as an All-Star game reserve, the NBA excused him from the Rookie Challenge. He still will defend his skills challenge title during All-Star weekend. Is the dunk contest in his future? “No. I can jump high, but I’m not that creative,” he said. … When Kaman hit a 15-foot jumper from the baseline 17 seconds into the game to make it 2-0, the Clippers had their first lead in 140 minutes, 50 seconds. Their previous lead had been in the opening minutes of a Jan. 27 loss at New Jersey. … G Devin Brown, acquired last week from New Orleans, scored five points in his Bulls debut.