CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Elton Brand had 38 points and 20 rebounds Friday night as the Los Angeles Clippers pounded their way to a 97-88 victory over the undermanned Charlotte Bobcats.

Chris Kaman added 22 points and a career-high 22 rebounds for the Clippers, who snapped a five-game road losing streak by exploiting Charlotte’s shortage of big men.

The Bobcats came into the game as winners of three of their last four despite a depleted roster. It caught up to them against the Clippers, when the absence of Emeka Okafor (ankle), Sean May (knee) and center Jake Voskuhl (ankle) left them unable to compete under the basket.

Although forward Melvin Ely returned after missing three games with the flu, he was too weak to put up much of a defense on Brand.

The Clippers outrebound Charlotte 57-37 and scored 56 points in the paint. No Bobcat had more than six rebounds.

Primoz Brezec led Charlotte with 20 points and Brevin Knight added 19. Raymond Felton, starting his fourth game in a two point guard lineup because all the injuries, struggled on 2-of-10 shooting. He had six points.

Los Angeles had leads of up to 17 points, but saw Charlotte cut it to 91-86 late in the game. But Brand ended any chance of a comeback by completely taking over the game.

He made a layup with 1:49 to play, then after a Charlotte miss, he got the rebound and was fouled by Bernard Robinson. Brand went to the line and made a pair of free throws, then hit another jumper to make it 97-86.

Charlotte had a similar rally in the third quarter, cutting it to 66-61, only to see the Clippers come roaring back with an 11-3 run. Yaroslav Korolev dunked and made a 20-foot jumper during the run. He later added a 3-pointer and finished with seven points – the only bench points of the entire game for the Clippers.

Notes: The officials are apparently still getting used to the setup at Charlotte’s new arena. Late in the first half, referee Jim Clark yelled into the crowd to a Bobcats’ consultant that he couldn’t easily locate team fouls on the scoreboard. … Ely, who spent his rookie season with the Clippers, was scrambling to secure tickets for his family before the game. With at least eight relatives in town for the holiday, Ely was almost begging his teammates for extras. … Dallas Cowboys receiver Keyshawn Johnson, in town for Saturday’s game against the Panthers, sat courtside and received a thundering boo when introduced. NFL sideline reporter Pam Oliver, seated about a dozen seats away, got a much warmer welcome.

AP-ES-12-23-05 2214EST