Clippers lose game, Kaman

Lose two. Gain one.

It seems somewhat fitting that on a day the Clippers’ ideal frontcourt -- an improved Chris Kaman and a healthy Elton Brand -- finally neared fruition, another injury may throw everything out of whack.

A season of waiting, healing and hypothesizing for Brand was finally narrowed down before the Clippers lost a spirited game at Staples Center on Monday, 93-86, to the Dallas Mavericks, who are still in a three-way playoff tango.

Brand is expected to return on the team’s upcoming trip, possibly against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. If not then, he is scheduled to make his season debut Sunday, at home against the Houston Rockets.

“I love to hoop,” said Brand, now healed from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon that has sidelined him the entire season. “I’m excited to go out there and really give it a test.”

But the frontcourt pairing with Kaman may have to wait.

Kaman exited late in the first quarter after grabbing a rebound and being fouled by Devean George. His right ankle rolled, his brief comeback stalled.

Kaman left on crutches, his ankle swollen badly, making it doubtful he will be able to return to the court this season.

He had returned only three games ago after missing 13 of the previous 18 because of a bothersome lower back.

Cuttino Mobley followed him in the third quarter, leaving after injuring his left heel. He is day to day.

The Mavericks (46-28) are still without injured leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki and Jerry Stackhouse and winless against winning teams since landing point guard Jason Kidd in a blockbuster trade.

They were 10-0 against losing teams with Kidd, but the Clippers gave them a game.

They trailed by as many as 18 points before whittling the score to 78-75 with an Al Thornton layup with 6:07 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Then Kidd made a couple of free throws, Jason Terry a three-point shot and Josh Howard a couple of jumpers and another game was, in a flash, out of reach.

Kidd, hailed as everything except a marksman during his storied career, shot as if he were readying himself for a three-point contest.

It was an odd box score all around for him.

He scored 27 points, his most since joining the Mavericks, but had only four assists, tying his season low, to go along with four turnovers.

Dallas moved into sole possession of seventh place in the Western Conference playoff standings, past the Denver Nuggets, who lost to the Phoenix Suns, and the idle Golden State Warriors.

“Clearly, they are playing a nine-game season right now,” Dunleavy said. “Every game is pretty important.”

Thornton scored 26 points for the Clippers (22-52), but they shot only 36.8% from the field.

Afterward, Mavericks Coach Avery Johnson marveled at Thornton.

“I don’t think I scored 39 points my whole rookie year,” Johnson said referring to Thornton’s outburst against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.

He did. Almost twice that, in fact, with 68 points his rookie year for the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1988-89 season.

It took Thornton nearly two games to almost equal Johnson’s total.

But the Clippers had little else working offensively.

Corey Maggette made a three-point shot in the first quarter and little else from the field, finishing three of 15. His next field goal came at 7:20 in the fourth quarter, another three-pointer, with nine misses in between.

He, however, did get to the free-throw line, making 14 of his 18 shots there and ending with 23 points.

“I just couldn’t get any shots going,” Maggette said. “Easy shots that I can make, I couldn’t make them [Monday].”

Dunleavy, upset at the officiating all night, launched his clipboard about 20 feet into the air at a late charging foul on Thornton.

It ended with the Clippers 19th loss in their last 22 games, with eight remaining. They travel to play the SuperSonics on Wednesday, then hope to have their franchise forward finally return.

In any case, the lights have closed on the Clippers season and the time -- for Brand and Kaman -- to showcase next season’s frontcourt tandem is also running low.

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jonathan.abrams@latimes.com