Odom Leads Inspired Clipper Effort

Lamar Odom will celebrate his 21st birthday today, but he was not thinking about parties when he limped to his locker after the Clippers’ 108-103 loss to the Lakers Sunday night at Staples Center.

Odom wanted an early gift--for the Clippers to end a 13-game losing streak against the Lakers.

“This has to be the best we have played the Lakers in years,” Odom said. “We talked everything through. They are a real confident team but we wanted to come out and prove that we can play. We wanted to show that we are not just a bunch of young kids running around the court. This was a big game for us.”

Odom did his part. In 42 minutes, he scored 19 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, had six assists and blocked three shots.

“He’s a lot like Grant Hill in a lot of ways,” Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said of Odom. “He did a really good job for us tonight.”

The Clippers’ free-throw shooting hurt them against the Lakers. Making 17 of 30 from the line will not beat many NBA teams, especially a dominant team like the Lakers.

Gentry said the Clippers tried to win the game by fouling the Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal down the stretch, but ended up losing because of their own missed free throws.

“It’s a growing problem. We just have to step up to the line and make them,” Gentry said about the Clippers’ poor free-throw shooting this season.

“You can’t shoot [56.7%], from the line. Those are big points when you have a chance to get a little breathing room or get a little closer. Those are the kind of things that kill momentum and the thing is we have good free-throw shooters.”

Added Odom: “Our free-throw shooting at the end probably cost us the game.”

The Clippers’ offensive scheme gave the Lakers trouble all night. By starting Odom at power forward, the Clippers ran many plays around Laker big men Horace Grant and O’Neal, forcing them to defend on the perimeter.

“Give credit to Coach Gentry,” Grant said. “He had a great game plan that put myself and Shaq in screen and rolls . . . they did a great job.”’

The Clippers, who dropped to 1-3 this season, trailed for much of the game but stepped up late in the third quarter. With Odom and Jeff McInnis penetrating at will, the Clippers broke down the Laker defense.

The Clippers took a 77-72 lead early in the final quarter. That’s when the Lakers’ Isaiah Rider made a play that turned the game.

With the 24-second clock running down, Rider launched a desperation three-point shot that went in and cut the Clippers’ lead to two. The Lakers continued their run, outscoring the Clippers, 12-2, to take a commanding 84-79 lead.

“That was a big shot that turned the momentum back to them,” said McInnis, who finished with 19 points, eight assists and four rebounds.

“We gave them a run and they handled it like a championship team does. . . . In the fourth quarter, they knew they were in for a fight. We felt like we could win. We didn’t just come out to play for our health. We came to win.”

With nine of their next 12 games at Staples Center, the Clippers have a chance to build on their effort against the Lakers.

“We definitely learned that if we follow [Coach Gentry]’s game plan, move the ball and be unselfish, we can compete with anyone,” Odom said.

Only time will tell if the Clippers are really on to something.