THE Sydney Kings made a big statement in their historic pre-season showdown in Hawaii's Honolulu, before falling short of pulling off a stunning upset against the Los Angeles Clippers.

For three and a half quarters the Kings were well and truly in the contest, before the Clippers called on their stars who blew the game out late to win 110-91 on Sunday (Monday AEST) - with Tobias Harris the best performed of the NBA team, scoring 20 points.

For the Kings, it was the Jerome Randle show - with the livewire point guard dropping a game-high 25 points as he caught the attention of NBA fans around the world.

Randle caught fire in the first half as the Kings won the second quarter 37-31, stunning their more fancied rivals.The Kings kept close to the Clippers throughout the game, unlike the 130-72 shellacking the Utah Jazz gave the Perth Wildcats on Saturday.

At half-time the Clippers led 59-54 and with six minutes left Sydney trailed by just six points before LA charged home.

Kings coach Andrew Gaze had reason to panic when former NBA star Andrew Bogut went down with an apparent knee injury in the first half - but he returned to finish the game with eight points, eight rebounds and four assists in a fine display of passing at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.

Bogut, the NBA’s top draft pick in 2005 and a 13-season veteran of basketball’s top league, moved back to Australia this year to play in the NBL.

His elite play calling, trademark passing, brutal screens and rim protection were on show and will likely generate interest from NBA teams looking for an experienced big man.