Watch Chris Kaman shove Chris Paul out of bounds Wednesday night

With the Clippers trailing the Portland Trail Blazers in the third quarter on Wednesday, 92-81, Chris Paul stole the ball from backup center Chris Kaman after he caught a rebound under the basket.

Kaman responded by shoving Paul with two hands. Paul, who weighs nearly 100 pounds less than Kaman, flew out of bounds, landing on his back.

“I was real surprised,” Paul said. “I sort of know Kaman pretty well. I didn’t know what happened. I stole it, and then with the push. It’s all good, though. No hard feelings.”

Kaman is a former Clipper. As part of the deal to get Paul in 2011, the Clippers dealt Kaman to the Hornets.

The Trail Blazers’ backup center was given a flagrant foul on the play.

Paul said he was glad that Kaman did not get ejected.

“If you see me, I clicked out for a second and then I went and sat on the table,” said Paul, who ran over to Kaman and nudged him after the incident. “I was cool.”

That skirmish seemingly energized the Clippers, who recovered from a 19-point second quarter deficit in the third quarter to enter the fourth trailing the Trail Blazers by seven, 92-85. In the fourth quarter, the Clippers used a 16-2 run to take control of the game, eventually winning their biggest come-from-behind victory of the season.

“That just brought more energy into the game,” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said of the Kaman-Paul encounter. “When you’re lacking energy, you’re just looking for anything. Little plays like that can help you, or they can do you in too. You never know how that’s going to go. I was happy how we responded after that.”

Paul, of course, had the last laugh, finishing with a season-high 41 points, 17 assists and only one turnover.