Clippers’ Lamar Odom is payoff as T.J. Simers plays favorites

Oh me, oh my. Finally, the payoff.

And I’m not even talking about Chris Paul’s exhilarating, awesome, magical, 93-91 game-winner.

I begin with Lamar Odom, who is my favorite athlete, and apparently Blake Griffin’s as well. Griffin has come running off the bench to throw a bear hug around Odom, and there’s still much of the fourth quarter to play.

OK, so Paul is a close second as my favorite athlete. Very close. And my favorite closer.

But I’ve been waiting and waiting for Odom, the Clippers doing the same in getting someone 30 pounds overweight to start the season, and the payoff is a difference-maker.

I go back 14 years, when Odom scored 33 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in his first ever start for the Clippers, and he has the ability to do the same now even as Khloe’s old man.

And while it might not be all that evident in a box score, he did help shift Game 2 in the Clippers’ favor with a string of heady plays all-too-familiar to Lakers fans who might recall an earlier championship run.

He set the stage for Paul’s dramatics, as Paul scored the team’s final eight points, including the final basket with 0.1 of a second remaining. There was no time whatsoever for Memphis to do anything but start thinking about what it’s like to be down 2-0.

We expect Paul, of course, to take the last shot, although it seemed to come as somewhat of a surprise to the Grizzlies. We expect him to carry the Clippers on his back, as he has already put them on the NBA map.

But it’s Odom on top right now, and yes, I know he’s not perfect. And yes, he has the potential to disappoint at times, and I don’t get the whole Kardashian thing, although it’s none of my business.

I know Odom blew it in Dallas, but those people who booed him think Tony Romo is great, so what do they know?

“The Clippers were patient, understanding and committed,” says Odom, “and I am most appreciative.”

So are the people now on their feet in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, a tight game briefly blown open by Odom’s long-range vision.

He grabbed a rebound and completed a court-length pass to Matt Barnes, and I’d like to see Romo do that.

Barnes got a pair of free throws, then at the opposite end, Odom blocked a Zach Randolph shot and later fed Eric Bledsoe for a layup. That’s more excitement than anyone saw in 48 minutes of basketball between the Lakers and Spurs.

It would still take Paul to finish off Memphis, the game tied with a little more than 13 seconds to play.

But it’s Lawler’s Law, I think, or will be. If the ball is in Paul’s hands, the game is over.

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Hello, is anybody home?

Clippers broadcaster Ralph Lawler said he saw a tweet at halftime, and I would guess it’s the first tweet he’s ever seen.

He said someone from CBS said the Clippers-Grizzlies’ series was worthy of being the Western finals, Lawler’s partner Mike Smith saying, “Well said.”

That might be the only way to eliminate Oklahoma City.

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Sometime soon Magic Johnson is going to start talking about his Dodgers and their chances for success this season.

Keep in mind that Magic pronounced the Lakers out of the playoffs earlier this season, then declared later they would beat the Spurs in the first round before coming to the conclusion after one game the Spurs will have no trouble eliminating the Lakers.

And he knows basketball.

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Why is it surprising to everyone that Kobe Bryant became the Twitter Hog?

Or that he’s now going to be a Big Baby again and keep his tweets to himself during Game 2 because some folks didn’t like it?

If the Lakers-Spurs’ game needed anything beyond Kobe playing on the court, it was Kobe tweeting and adding an element of entertainment to the snooze-fest.

As for Mike D’Antoni referring to Kobe as “a fan” when asked about the Twitter Hog, how clueless is D’Antoni?

Kobe didn’t include anywhere near the number of obscenities in his tweets that a fan would.

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Our old friend, the Dodgers’ Parking Lot Attendant, who has been in court recently fighting not to give more money to Jamie McCourt, was in the Chick Hearn Media Room at halftime of the Clippers’ game.

I told Frank McCourt he had to relate to the woman who got the chance to go on the basketball court with a shovel and scoop up as much money as she could before running off.

The Clippers gave the woman an extra scoop with the shovel after time ran out, and I asked McCourt whether that had given him any ideas.

It really was like old times; McCourt turned away.

t.j.simers@latimes.com