Shoulder Injury Sidelines Kaman

Center Chris Kaman sat out Sunday’s 114-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals and is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam today on his injured right shoulder.

Kaman suffered the injury in Friday’s 94-91 loss in Game 3 but said he was unsure how it occurred.

“I don’t really know,” he said. “I just kind of couldn’t raise it [his arm]. We’ll see what [the MRI] shows.”

Kaman, who remained on the active roster Sunday, said he received an anti-inflammatory injection about 30 minutes before the game in hopes of playing. He also received a cortisone shot at halftime but was still in too much pain to play.

“I’m just having a little trouble,” Kaman said. “It’s just a little painful to get it up over my shoulder.”

In Game 3, Kaman had 11 points and seven rebounds before fouling out. He had 14 points and 16 rebounds in the Clippers’ Game 2 victory.

In eight postseason games, Kaman is averaging 10.3 points and 6.8 rebounds. He established personal bests in the regular season, averaging 11.9 points and 9.6 rebounds.

To hear Commissioner David Stern tell it, he was ahead of the curve on the Clippers.

“I used to come out of my office every year and tell the broadcasting department, ‘This is the year of the Clippers. We should schedule them [on network TV],’ ” Stern said in an interview with reporters covering the Clippers-Suns series. “They would say to me, ‘Go back into your office and leave it to us, David,’ which I dutifully did.

“But clearly, this team has been constructed with the right coaching resources, the right executive resources, the right scouting resources and the right economic resources to sign key players. And that’s what the system is supposed to do. The cycle is supposed to be a little faster than has happened with the Clippers, but it’s gratifying without taking anything away from what the Lakers have been and mean to the league.

“It’s a storied franchise, but it’s great for the Clippers’ fans to have this success. Thirty years is a long time to wait for a second round. I’m very pleased for the fans.”

The Suns were drubbed again by the Clippers in rebounding, 55-37, in Game 4 and had seven fewer offensive rebounds.

“That’s who we are,” Sun Coach Mike D’Antoni said dryly. “We’re just happy to be here.”

Four Clippers starters had eight or more rebounds, and point guard Sam Cassell had 11.

The Suns shortened their bench Sunday, using only seven players and again turning sharpshooter Eddie House into an afterthought.

House averaged 9.8 points and 17.5 minutes during the season but was inconsistent in the first round against the Lakers, averaging three points, and is a forgotten man against the Clippers. He did not play in Games 3 or 4, a healthy body sitting at the end of the Suns’ bench. He has not scored in the series, missing all five of his shots.

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