No Happy Ending in Odom’s Return

Nearly an hour after the Clippers’ lost to the New York Knicks on Monday, rookie Lamar Odom still had a swarm of reporters around him in the visitors’ locker room at Madison Square Garden. A Queens, N.Y., native, Odom expected the attention. He only wished he could have talked about a Clipper win rather than the team’s longest losing streak of the season.

“It was a lot of fun to be back at the Garden, I just wished we could have played better,” said Odom, who handled the ball most of the game for the Clippers. “I had a lot of family and friends here in the crowd. It was a dream come true . . . making it to the NBA and playing in the Garden against the New York Knicks . . . I can’t wait to come back.”

Odom, who purchased 50 tickets for family and friends, struggled at times but he impressed people with his play.

“He has nice skills,” said New York forward Larry Johnson, who defended Odom most of the game after not playing in the Knicks’ loss to the Clippers in December. “He wasn’t as tall as I thought he would be but very quick. He has to put on some muscle but a lot of the younger guys have to do that.”

Clipper interim Coach Jim Todd was pleased with Odom’s effort. Before the game, he tried not to put any more pressure on him.

“We didn’t want to jinx him by talking about his return to New York,” Todd said. “I thought he played well and handled it. I’m sure he wanted to play better and get a win in his homecoming.

“He has played through some cycles, some ups and downs, but he will be a great player. He’s a heck of a player now even though he is struggling with this losing streak. He tried to make everybody better on the team by not looking for his own offense first. He is our captain already and he’s only 20.”

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Shooting guard Derek Anderson played after missing two games because of an ankle injury. Point guard Eric Murdock didn’t dress because of soreness in his left ankle.