Rookie Odom Has Flair for the Dramatic

It was as if the Clippers had won their first NBA championship.

Exhausted players yelled with arms raised. Coaches clapped and gave high-fives to anyone who put a hand up. Even injured players not in uniform had sweat stains.

The reason?

An improbable 89-85 victory over Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves on a night they had every reason to mail it in.

With Maurice Taylor, Derek Anderson and Eric Piatkowski out because of injuries, the Clippers rallied from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit and sent a shocked Target Center crowd of 13,677 home disappointed.

Down the stretch, veteran Eric Murdock dusted off an old move for a key three-point play and rookie Lamar Odom sealed the win with a highlight basket over Garnett to help the Clippers (2-6) end a four-game losing streak and an eight-game road drought dating to last season.

Not only did the Clippers defeat the Timberwolves (3-2) with a depleted lineup, they did it 24 hours after losing a tough game at Milwaukee. It was a victory featuring more heart than anything else.

“We’ve had some close games and for whatever reason, we’ve come up short,” said Murdock, who had his best game as a Clipper with 16 points, seven assists and four steals.

“Everybody was pretty much on the same page as far as defensively, making stops. We weren’t worried about the offense . . . we just had to clamp down on the defensive end.”

Clipper Coach Chris Ford used only seven players and backup big man Anthony Avent played only six minutes. Several times during the game, players appeared ready to drop, especially Odom, who played all 48 minutes.

It was a statement game for Odom, who for three quarters struggled with his shot and made more than his share of mental mistakes. But in the fourth, Odom scored 13 points on four-for-four shooting, grabbed three key rebounds and made a running left-hand floater over Garnett for the Clippers’ final basket.

The score was tied at halftime, 45-45, but the Clippers were blitzed in the third quarter when Minnesota rookie Wally Szczerbiak scored 10 of his 11 points. The Clippers looked defeated as they walked to their bench trailing, 70-61, heading into the fourth.

The Clippers did not immediately catch fire to open the period but they played under control as Ford gave the reins to Murdock, who was playing his third game after sitting out three because of a sore right knee.

Odom began to find his rhythm offensively and made a key box-out against Garnett for a defensive rebound, which led to a dunk by Brian Skinner that cut Minnesota’s lead to 83-82 with 2:21 remaining.

The Clippers took the lead for good when Michael Olowokandi, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds, made two free throws with 1:40 left.

After a strong defensive effort and rebound by Skinner, who finished with 10 in his first career start, Murdock showed why the Clippers traded for him with New Jersey days before the start of training camp.

With the shot clock running down, Murdock drove the right side of the lane, drew contact from Minnesota’s Terrell Brandon and made a soft touch shot over Joe Smith. After Murdock’s three-point play, Minnesota answered with a basket by Smith, setting up Odom’s dramatic basket.

For Minnesota, it was a difficult loss to take. Garnett did his part with 23 points and 20 rebounds, but in the end the Timberwolves could not hold off the determined Clippers.