Box Score: http://www.nba.com/games/20040116/MIALAC/boxscore.html <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16 (Ticker) -- While Lamar Odom had some success against his former team, it was another player that once played in Los Angeles that helped the Miami Heat get a win. Odom collected 11 points and 15 rebounds and Eddie Jones scored 21 points and hit a clutch 3-pointer down the stretch as the Heat snapped a four-game losing streak with an 87-85 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Odom was Los Angeles' 1999 first-round pick and spent four turbulent seasons with the Clippers, who refused to match the offer sheet Odom signed with the Heat. He averaged 15.9 points but was limited to just 78 games over the previous two seasons due to injuries and NBA suspensions. "It was fun," Odom said. "The fans didn't bother me. I got exactly what I wanted - a win. I probably dreamed of scoring 30 points and dunking over everyone. But I just played to win the game. We needed a win to turn this road trip around." Booed in pregame introductions and virtually every time he touched the ball, Odom made 4-of-12 shots. However, he nearly cost the Heat the game as he fell down while driving the lane. The ball went out of bounds, giving the Clippers a final chance to tie the game. But without a timeout, the Clippers failed to get to overtime for the third straight game as Odom defended Corey Maggette and prevented him from getting a shot off before the buzzer. "I got double-teamed on the block all night, so I just tried to get on the ball as best I could and make plays," Odom said. "With seven seconds left in the game, I knew they (the Clippers) had no timeouts left, so instead of huffing and puffing, I put all my effort into shutting Maggette down." "It was going to either me or Elton Brand," Maggette explained. "We only had about eight seconds and we were out of timeouts. Lamar did a great job of defending me." Jones, who played with Los Angeles Lakers from 1994-99, scored 16 points in the second half. He made four 3-pointers, including one that gave Miami an 87-83 advantage with 45 seconds remaining. "It's always fun to come back here," Jones said. "Tonight we won because we played better defense. We're happy because we've been just trying to dig ourselves out of a hole." The Heat improved to 1-4 on a six-game road trip and unlike their previous four games, they overcame their recent struggles in the final 12 minutes. Miami took a 64-60 lead into the fourth quarter and never trailed down the stretch, getting clutch baskets from Jones, Odom and Brian Grant to go along with six free throws from rookie Udonis Haslem. "This is the best stretch of road games our guys have played all year," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We have played better games on the trip than tonight but we finally got rewarded. It was an absolute battle out there, and it's just good to win a game by battling every once in a while." Brand, who signed an offer sheet with Miami that was matched by the Clippers, collected 22 points and 12 rebounds. Maggette added 21 and former Miami guard Eddie House chipped in 17. </div> http://www.nba.com/games/20040116/MIALAC/recap.html
