Seattle, WA (My Sportsbook) - Al Thornton poured in 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers caught fire in the fourth quarter en route to a rout of the Seattle SuperSonics, 102-84, on the night that Elton Brand returned to action.

Brand, who led LA in scoring, rebounding and blocks last season, injured his left Achilles tendon on August 3 during a routine workout, and underwent surgery on August 7. He was not expected to play until Thursday night, but returned to the hardwood on Wednesday in the Clippers' 102-84 win over the Seattle SuperSonics.

There is no doubt that Brand's presence was a boost to LA, but it was not just an emotional lift. The two-time All-Star logged almost 26 minutes of action, scoring 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, pulling down five rebounds and even dishing out three assists for the Clippers, who had dropped 11 of their last 12 outings overall and two of their last three against the Sonics.

"It felt great," Brand said of his return. "Just competing, being down two (points) and having a chance to win -- we've been in that predicament so many times this season, and I'm on the sideline watching. I don't know if we're going to win, but I just want to give my effort and try to help."

Corey Maggette tallied 20 points, six boards and three helpers for Los Angeles, while Dan Dickau donated 13 points and Josh Powell reeled in 11 rebounds to go with eight points.

"We were getting hands on balls," explained Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy, "and we were getting blocks. We got some nice contributions from our bench. We were solid. Thornton gave us a solid game, and obviously the lift (Brand) gave us was terrific."

Kevin Durant provided 30 points and five boards for Seattle, which has fallen in four consecutive contests and 15 of the last 16. Jeff Green added 17 points and five rebounds, and Nick Collison cleaned up 17 boards while scoring 12 points. Earl Watson chipped in with 12 points and five assists.

The Clippers kicked off the fourth quarter with a 20-6 surge that put the game away. Dickau sparked the scoring with a jumper, but the burst featured Brand, who netted nine points, including the pair of free throws that sealed the streak and the game, as Los Angeles soared ahead, 89-76, with 4:16 remaining.

Down the stretch, the Sonics never came closer than nine points, while the Clippers bucketed the last eight points of the affair and cruised to victory.

"I think (Los Angeles) played pretty well," commented Seattle head coach P.J. Carlesimo. "We did a poor job of executing. It seemed like we quit moving the ball. We just gave it to Kevin (Durant) for isolation. We stopped moving the ball and couldn't execute. We got very few good shots in that fourth quarter."

After 12 minutes of action, the Clippers were on top, 27-22.

Heading into the locker rooms at halftime, the Sonics had a 50-48 edge.

Neither squad could gain separation in the third period, with no margin greater than four points throughout the stanza. After Durant drained a jumper just before the buzzer sounded, Seattle was clinging to a 70-69 advantage with the final frame upcoming.

Game Notes

Los Angeles improved to 23-52 overall, while Seattle slipped to 17-58...The Clippers climbed to 10-27 as the guest...The Sonics fell to 11-27 at KeyArena...LA won the season series, 2-1...Nick Fazekas finished with eight points and seven boards for the Clippers...Los Angeles had lost back-to-back tilts in Seattle.