Odom polishes his glass act in Game 1

It was a long, laborious negotiation, one that required almost the entire first month of the free-agency period before the deal was done last July.

Lamar Odom agreed to stay with the Lakers, re-signing for four years and $33 million, a hefty contract for a sixth man but one that paid out well Monday.

Andrew Bynum was insignificant because of a sore knee, but Odom stepped into the mix and delivered 19 points and 19 rebounds in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Phoenix Suns.

Odom was averaging 8.5 points and 8.1 rebounds in the playoffs before Monday, but he looked strong from the start, gathering 15 points and eight rebounds in the first half alone, and the Lakers cruised to a 128-107 victory.

“I had a pretty rough first two series offensively,” Odom said. “I just spent some time in the gym. I knew my opportunity would come. I just tried to be more efficient -- where I shoot the ball from, how I get my shot -- and rebound the ball as much as possible.”

Odom was even on when he was off. He missed two layup attempts in one fourth-quarter possession but tracked the rebound each time and eventually was credited with a basket after the Suns’ Amare Stoudemire was called for goaltending on Odom’s third attempt.

“He dominated the boards,” Suns Coach Alvin Gentry said. “I just thought he gave them that extra burst of energy.”

Odom, 30, had never taken this many rebounds in 79 previous playoff games.

He didn’t escape unscathed, a sizable knot poking though the right side of his forehead after the game, the result of an errant elbow from Phoenix forward Louis Amundson.

“He gave me a nice little goodbye knot,” Odom said. “But I’ll be all right.”

Bynum slowed again

Bynum had only four points and four rebounds Monday, the continuation of a scoring slump for a 22-year-old center fighting through torn cartilage in his right knee.

He wasn’t great in the first half -- four points and three rebounds -- and he definitely wasn’t sharp in the third quarter, missing a layup attempt and later bouncing a pass off the foot of Pau Gasol, the ball rolling out of bounds for a turnover.

He played only 19 minutes.

“After the game, he said he didn’t feel quite up to his normal [self], and that’s obvious,” Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. “But we were able to survive it, actually, without having a big contribution from him.”

He’s back

Sasha Vujacic played for the first time in nearly five weeks since suffering a severely sprained left ankle, checking into Monday’s game with 6:31 left in the second quarter.

He hadn’t played since April 14, missing the first two rounds of the playoffs, and his playing time in Game 1 was short-lived -- 1 minute 23 seconds.

He had one memorable moment, or maybe it was a moment to forget, fouling Grant Hill while the Suns forward attempted a three-point shot with 0.6 of a second left in the second quarter.

Hill made two of three free throws to bring the Suns to within 62-55.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

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