Kenyon Martin looked spry and athletic, rusty and a bit fatigued.

The 12-year veteran, who signed a one-year deal with the Clippers late last week, made his on-court debut Wednesday in Cleveland. And while it was not without its ups and downs, as the game progressed, he seemingly fit in more by the minute.

“It was exciting to get back out there, get up at the rim,” Martin said. “We’ve just got to play better, make sure we play a little harder.”

After the team exited its huddle to start the second quarter, Martin walked on the floor along with fellow reserves Reggie Evans, Ryan Gomes and Mo Williams, and starter Randy Foye. Thirty-five seconds later he was open for an 18-footer, but missed short. The Clippers retained possession and Martin found an open space along the right baseline, where Evans found him with a no-look pass.

Martin canned the shot and raced back to the defensive end. He wound up shooting 1-for-5 from the field in the first half, all from the perimeter.

Martin provided more than a litany of jump shots, however. On one Cleveland possession he committed a foul contesting a dunk attempt by Christian Eyenga and eye-balled the young swingman as he headed to the line. Later, he was whistled for a technical foul for shoving Samardo Samuels with a forearm. Samuels had just knocked Blake Griffin to the floor and was standing over the Clippers star. Martin was having none of it.

“He’s just trying to get his feet under him a little bit,” said Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro, who anticipated playing Martin for about 15 minutes (he played 20).

Martin has not seen game action since late December when he was a member of the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association. Del Negro has maintained since the team acquired him that they wanted to be cautious and not rush Martin onto the court too soon.

“The only way to get in NBA shape is by playing in games,” Martin said. “You can do all the conditioning you want, but it’s a lot different when you’re bumping bodies, blocking out and things like that.”

While Martin looked understandably rusty, fumbling away a sure put-back after on an offensive board, and may have been somewhat winded, there were moments when his athleticism and toughness stood out.

After playing six minutes, 34 seconds in the first half, Martin saw 13 minutes between the third and fourth quarters. During that stretch, he already started resembling the real Kenyon Martin.

In the third quarter, with the shot clock winding down, Griffin air-balled a fade away from the right baseline, Martin swooped in at the front of the rim, powered it home, and swung off the rim. He did it again in the fourth on a missed layup by Foye, helping the Clippers inch closer after trailing by 15.

On a night when L.A. struggled to convert inside, Martin provided two of their three dunks. He finished with six points, four rebounds, a steal, and two blocks, including a ferocious right-handed rejection of Samuels. He also committed four fouls, picked up a technical, and along with Evans contested shots and provided an energy that’s often missing from the Clippers’ second unit.

“I’m really happy to be back,” Martin said. “I want to do all I can and help this team. I think I will be able to just playing my game.”