Lamar Odom goes from sixth man to nowhere man

Lamar Odom insisted he couldn’t play for the Lakers after the team tried to trade him last month.

So how does that make Dallas any different?

In his first game with the Mavericks since the team acquired him for a draft pick and a trade exception, Odom scored four points on one-for-six shooting before being ejected in the third quarter for complaining about a charging call.

In his second game, Odom finished with six points, making one of 10 shots in a blowout loss to Denver.

Odom’s third game was equally charmless. He scored four points on two-for-11 shooting as the defending NBA champions lost to Oklahoma City to fall to 0-3.

At least his wife, Khloe Kardashian, seemed to be adjusting to life in her new city.

“Wait I LOVE the Dallas Mavs Maniaacs!!!!! LOL,” she tweeted during Dallas’ opener.

Couples like this don’t last

At this rate, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant won’t be on each other’s Christmas lists much longer.

Seven months after Oklahoma City’s dynamic duo engaged in a shouting match during a playoff game, Westbrook and Durant’s antics during a timeout against Memphis on Wednesday were worthy of a trip to the timeout corner.

Westbrook barked at Durant. Durant said something back. Westbrook walked away.

Westbrook was originally irked when he drove into the lane and passed to teammate Thabo Sefolosha, who declined to take an open shot in the corner. Westbrook yelled at Sefolosha to shoot the ball and remained incensed heading into a timeout, triggering his exchange with Durant.

Both players downplayed the incident. Durant explained to reporters: “Everybody was yelling. It wasn’t just myself or Russell; it was everybody.”

On the plus side, maybe the talk therapy is working; Oklahoma City won its first four games.

No indifference here

They love him. They hate him. This is the new reality for Kris Humphries.

The former Mr. Kim Kardashian sparked a wide range of emotions from fans in his first three games since the New Jersey Nets forward divorced Kardashian.

When the Nets opened the season at Washington, the booing seemed to last nearly as long as Humphries’ 72-day marriage. Every time Humphries touched the ball during a 21-point, 16-rebound performance, he was jeered.

The reception was considerably warmer when Humphries returned to the Prudential Center, where Nets fans showered him with a huge ovation during pregame introductions. Once the game started, fans repeatedly chanted, “We love Humphries!”

“It’s our home crowd,” Humphries said. “We play hard for them, and they cheer for us.”

It was back to boos two days later when New Jersey went on the road to play Orlando.

Christmas Eve miracle

No fourth-quarter drama should unnerve Philadelphia’s Lou Williams, given his response last Saturday when his life was on the line.

Williams told reporters that a man holding a gun approached his stopped car in Manayunk, a Philadelphia neighborhood, and knocked on the driver’s side window.

Fortunately for Williams, the man recognized the 76ers guard and praised his community work.

“He’s a Lou Williams fan so he didn’t rob me,” Williams said.

Williams said he treated the man to McDonald’s. By the end of the unusual encounter, they were both loving it.

— Ben Bolch