Chris Kaman scored 18 points to lead the Clippers in double figures as Los Angeles used its height advantage to defeat Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 108-96 in an exhibition game Tuesday night at Staples Center.
Kaman, who at 7 feet is taller than any Maccabi player, made 8 of 13 field goals. He scored his team’s first six points in the second half to turn an already comfortable 53-42 halftime lead into a 17-point lead. The Clippers eventually built the lead to as many as 22.
Sebastian Telfair scored 15 points with seven assists for Los Angeles, rookie Blake Griffin scored 13 points and took 10 rebounds, Rasual Butler scored his 12 points in the first half, Eric Gordon scored eight of his 11 points in the first half, Craig Smith scored 11 points off the bench, and Baron Davis added 10 points.
Maccabi had much of the 13,753 in attendance decidedly on its side but had no answer for Kaman and company. Still, Doron Perkins scored a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, the final assist coming on a 3-pointer by USC graduate David Bluthenthal at the final buzzer.
Chuck Eidson led Maccabi with 18 points. Bluthenthal added 12 points and Andrew Wisniewski scored 11 points.
The game served as a fundraiser for Migdal Ohr, which bills itself as the largest orphanage in the world. Its founder, Rabbi Yitzhak Dovid Grossman, led the crowd in the “Shema” and “Am Yisrael Chai” at halftime.
A moment of silence was observed before the start of the game for Moni Fanan, the former Maccabi manager who was found dead Sunday night after an apparent suicide.
