LOS ANGELES, Nov. 14 (AP) -- Stephon Marbury rejoined the New York Knicks, but Chris Kaman had 14 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to an 84-81 victory Wednesday night.

Marbury came off the bench to score nine of his 13 points in the first half. He went 4-of-12 from the field, missed a couple of critical shots in the closing minutes, but made a layup to close the gap to 82-81 with 7 seconds left.

Corey Maggette made a pair of free throws to cap the scoring. New York's Jamal Crawford missed a 30-footer at the buzzer.

The Knicks rallied from a 73-57 deficit with 8 minutes remaining to catch Los Angeles at 77 with 1:41 on the clock. But Tim Thomas made a 17-footer to put the Clippers back in front, and Cuttino Mobley banked in a 12-footer for a four-point lead with 27 seconds left.

Zach Randolph finished with 16 points and 19 rebounds, and Quentin Richardson added seven points and six rebounds as both returned to the Knicks' lineup. Eddy Curry had 16 points and 12 rebounds in the Knicks' fourth straight loss.

The disgruntled Marbury had left the team to return to New York and missed Tuesday night's 113-102 loss in Phoenix. The Knicks fined him some $182,000, 1/110th of his $20.1 million salary this season, and he flew to Los Angeles to rejoin them.

Coach Isiah Thomas said before the game that he and Marbury had talked after he arrived, but both said that the matter was going to be kept "in-house.''

Marbury was the fourth player off the bench and first entered the game with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter.

Sam Cassell and Maggette each scored 13 points for Los Angeles.

Randolph was back with the Knicks after taking time off because his grandmother died. Richardson also returned to the lineup after being out with a right elbow injury.

The Clippers have beaten the Knicks nine in a row since shifting from the Los Angeles Sports Arena to Staples Center for the 1999-2000 season.

Mobley returned after missing two games because of a hip injury. Los Angeles lost both contests after a 4-0 start.

Down 50-43, Los Angeles took advantage of an 0-for-10 shooting slump by the Knicks to go on a 16-1 spree that ended with Mobley's 3-pointer with 4:03 left in the third quarter. The Clippers were up 63-53 at the end of the period and stretched the lead to 16 before the Knicks began their comeback.

The first half was close almost all the way, with New York up 44-41 at the break.

Neither team had a scorer in double figures in the first half, but the Knicks had eight different players score, and the Clippers had nine. Marbury was high for New York with nine points, and Kaman topped Los Angeles with eight.

Mobley hit a 13-footer in the closing seconds to give the Clippers an 18-17 lead at the end of a sluggish first quarter by both teams. Los Angeles led despite making just 6-of-23 (26 percent) from the floor, to New York's 38 percent.

Thomas led the Clippers' scoring in the opening 12 minutes, with only five points. Curry scored six for New York.

Notes: Randolph will return to Indiana for his grandmother's funeral on Friday. ... New York G Mardy Collins missed the game because of a sprained right foot, hurt in Tuesday's game in Phoenix. F Renaldo Balkman (sprained right ankle) also sat out. ... The Knicks' last win over the Clippers in Los Angeles was a 77-76 victory on March 25, 1998, when the Clippers were still at the Sports Arena. That was New York's fifth win in a row over the Clippers in Los Angeles, but then the Clippers moved to STAPLES Center and reversed that trend.