Lamar Odom has never made an All-Star team and never won an individual award, unless you count the Eastern Conference player of the month in March 2004.

But the Lakers forward is closer than ever to taking home a personal keepsake. Odom and Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry are in a tight race for the NBA's Sixth Man Award.

Odom is quick to point out he's already a winner.

Lakers show off postseason form to Hornets in 102-84 victory

"I've got two awards," he said, pausing for effect. "Two championships."

Then he got reflective about winning something on his own.

"It would be a great accomplishment," he said. "I never would have seen myself four or five years ago coming off the bench."

Photos: Lakers vs. Hornets

One of the least selfish players in the NBA, Odom tracked down a reporter a few minutes after discussing the award possibilities. He wanted to add something, that winning it would be great for friends, family and two particular teammates.

"For guys like Kobe [Bryant] and Derek [Fisher], guys I've learned from, it's a compliment to them if something like that was to happen," he said.

Odom, 31, was somewhat maligned when the Lakers acquired him in 2004 as part of the Shaquille O'Neal trade. He was billed as a Scottie Pippen type to play alongside Bryant, but the Lakers failed to make the playoffs that season. Then they couldn't get out of the first round the next two seasons, and the pressure mounted.

Lakers will see you on the flip side . . . or not

But the arrival of Pau Gasol in February 2008 changed the dynamic of the Lakers. Odom was sent to the bench, where he flourished. He has also been an occasional starter, including 34 games this season.

Odom has actually been on a roll since helping the U.S. win the gold medal at the World Championships last September in Turkey. As if to demonstrate his versatility, he even played center for Team USA.

NBA playoff standings

He is third on the Lakers in scoring (14.4 points a game) and rebounding (8.8 a game) this season. He is shooting 53.7%, easily a career high if he maintains it for the final nine regular-season games.

Terry is averaging 16.4 points, 4.2 assists and 1.1 steals, second on the Mavericks in all three categories.

Boston forward Glen Davis is also a possibility, though far behind Odom and Terry. The award will be determined by about 125 media members and announced early in the playoffs.

Terry won the award in 2009. Atlanta guard Jamal Crawford won it last season.

The coach is not happy with how his bench has played in recent games.

The reserves aren't happy with how they have performed in recent games.

So it appears that Lakers Coach Phil Jackson and his substitutes are in agreement, and that is that the reserves must improve their play.

"If I had to grade it, the last 10 games would be a 'C,' and close to an 'F,' " Lakers reserve Lamar Odom said after practice Saturday.

"We're not winning our quarters. We're giving up leads. We weren't doing that earlier in the year."

Derek Fisher pushes right buttons for the Lakers

Jackson is not happy that his reserves let a 16-point lead Friday against the Clippers slip and a 21-point lead Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns get away, even though the Lakers won both games.

"They have to play defense a lot better and not turn the ball over," Jackson said. "So without trying to bring a huge focus to it, it's a problem right now."

The reserve unit of Odom, Matt Barnes, Shannon Brown and Steve Blake has been solid for most of the season, but they admit that they are in a rut.

Pau Gasol runs up the score for charity

"I think we're all a little bit frustrated," Blake said. "We want to perform well for our teammates and for our coaches.

"I don't know. We're just not getting stops the way we believe that we can. I think that's mentally affecting our offense a little bit."

Odom said it has to start with better communication on defense, taking care of the basketball and being efficient on the fastbreak.

"That unit is a different unit than the first unit so we've got to look to run at times," Odom said.

Elgin Baylor: A star on a Lakers team nobody saw

As a group, Jackson said his second unit's shooting percentages are down and that the "execution skills are not as good as I'd like them to be."

"We're playing a little bit faster than we have to play," Jackson said. "Even though it's a team that can speed up the tempo of the game, they are playing too fast for their accelerated capabilities. So that bothers me a little about them. And defensively, we haven't been good. We haven't made stops."

No West

The Hornets lost their leading scorer and rebounder for the rest of the season, but it does not mean that the Lakers will take New Orleans for granted Sunday night at Staples Center.

Hornets power forward David West tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee Thursday against the Utah Jazz, a season-ending injury.

He led the Hornets in scoring (18.9) and rebounding (7.6).

In his place, the Hornets started Carl Landry on Friday night against Phoenix. Landry, who was acquired by the Hornets from the Sacramento Kings before the February trading deadline, had 19 points against the Suns.

The Lakers know Landry all too well.

"He's had some good runs against us with Houston and with Sacramento," Jackson said. "He's strong. He's a good shooter from inside 18 feet. He's a good offensive rebounder. He's compact, not a rangy player, not a long player. He's got pretty good footwork down in the post."

broderick.turner@latimes.com

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It's funny now, Chris Kaman getting ejected Friday night, telling Derek Fisher he'd be meeting him outside and Kobe Bryant asking, "What's Kaman going to do, shoot him with one of his bow and arrows?"

But you know as well as Kaman does, Fisher just bugs you.

There's just something about the guy, whether you're wearing the opponents' uniform and getting whistled for an offensive foul, or he's angering Lakers fans for being the team's weak link.

So I wanted to know: "Is there an art to getting under people's skin?"

"You may know better than me," Fisher says with a twinkle, and you see what I mean.

A superstar, Elgin Baylor, nobody knew; a Lakers team nobody saw

He knows how to push buttons, a key performer in bringing five championship parades to Los Angeles, and yet so many Lakers fans want to know why he's still here.

Read anything on the Internet about Fisher, and if it allows for comments below, they will be dominated by vicious fans who just hate what he does or cannot do.

The comments are idiotic for the most part, but it does not mean they don't hurt a proud athlete who believes he's giving it everything he has. And usually that's pretty good, as evidenced by the number of banners hung by the Lakers.

"We all want to be appreciated," Fisher says. "I don't know how much better we can play as a team. Yet, there are still a high number of people that think I'm not pulling my weight."

Watch him during a game, just him, and there is an art to what he does. He understands the game, makes the opposition uncomfortable and works the officials.

Lakers blog

"Most of the time I'm lobbying for Andrew, for Kobe, for Ron …" he says of teammates Bynum, Bryant and Artest. "I'm just trying to do what I can to help us as a team."

He spends a lot of time on the floor, then picks himself up. He bumps and gets bumped. "He's a bulldog," says Coach Phil Jackson.

How many extra possessions have the Lakers earned on the way to winning championship after championship because Fisher has taken a bone-jarring charge?

The other night, he reminded an official that a screen set behind a player is illegal. Clippers center DeAndre Jordan then gets called for setting an illegal screen on Fisher.

Jordan laughs, because he knows he's been snookered.

Take a whole game into account and the argument can be made Fisher is the toughest player in the NBA. He stands in the way of a charging 300-pound center, gets flattened and bounces right up. Always does.

He's played in almost 500 consecutive games, the NBA's longest current streak. And that's a little guy taking a beating in a big man's game every night.

LAKERS VS. DALLAS

Thursday, 7:30 p.m. TV: TNT

The stakes are the same, but the scene has shifted.

On March 12, the Lakers went to Dallas, 11/2 games behind the Mavericks, winners of 20 of 24 including the teams' only previous contest, for No. 2 in the West.

A win would have given the Mavericks the season series and a 21/2-game lead with 16 left — and left the Lakers looking at playing Dallas and San Antonio on the road, back-to-back, in the playoffs, assuming they got to the Spurs.

Instead, with Kobe Bryant leaving, returning and playing 33 minutes with a badly sprained ankle, the Lakers led almost wire-to-wire and won, 96-91.

Now the Lakers, winners of 13 of 14, lead the Mavericks with the season series to be decided in this game, but it's at Staples Center.

mark.heisler@latimes.com

It was 50 years ago today, the Lakers' band began to play. . . .

As they do today, the Lakers had marquee idols at courtside — or at least one, Doris Day — and their own stars, led by, arguably, the best player of his day.

So much for similarities.

Everything else was different March 27, 1961, when the Lakers were in St. Louis to play the Hawks in Game 5 of their second-round playoff series.

Like, who cared?

New in town, and, unlike the Dodgers, uninvited, the Lakers were dropped off like orphans on the new Sports Arena's doorstep by owner Bob Short, who went back to his trucking business in Minneapolis.

Lakers database: All things Lakers

The announcement that the NBA had arrived got a one-column headline in The Times.

Players were sent out to do promotion, like the time Jerry West remembers, driving around in convertibles, waving.

"If they had thrown some hay in, it would have been like a hayride," West says.

Attendance averaged 5,045 — officially — with Short, back in Minneapolis, supposedly asking general manager Lou Mohs, "Can you double it for the press?"

Apparently, Lou did. As Chick Hearn would put it, "They didn't need a 15,000-seat arena for 200 people."

Hearn wasn't even doing their games.

No one was. Short wouldn't pay to get them on radio.

The Lakers had the majestic Elgin Baylor, wide-eyed rookie West . . . and high hopes.

This was the Elgin so few saw, the star of stars before undergoing major knee surgery in mid-career. He averaged 34.8 points, 18.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists that season.

Lakers blog

"It ticks me off when all of the so-called experts discuss the most outstanding players in NBA history and don't even mention Elgin Baylor," says Tom Hawkins, a forward on that team.

"For me, and I played against him — I had to guard him as the Cincinnati Royals' stopper — and I played with him, pound for pound Elgin Baylor was the greatest player to play the game.

His scoring meant more than just helping the Lakers defeat the Clippers.

His scoring meant more than just putting up another solid statistical game.

The 26 points that Pau Gasol scored during the Lakers' 112-104 victory over the Clippers on Friday night at Staples Center meant the All-Star forward had contributed to a worthy cause.

Gasol donated $1,000 for every point he scored toward to a fund set up by Direct Relief International to assist those affected by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan this month.

Lakers blog: Round the clock purple & gold

It meant that Gasol will write a check for $26,000.

"This was a good way for me to be involved and get more awareness," Gasol said. "Everybody that jumped on board, I want to say thank you."

Gasol scored 12 points in the first quarter on six-for-seven shooting.

Yes, Gasol said after the game, he was fully aware that the more points he scored, the more money he would be able to donate.

All Things Lakers database

"I was feeling good," he said. "The shots were going in and that meant a lot more than just having a good game for myself and for my team.

"When you're playing for something more beyond the usual, it's just not little, obviously. It makes you feel really good about yourself especially when other people get benefited from it."

Magic Johnson had said earlier Friday on his Twitter account that he would match whatever Gasol donated.

That means Johnson will also write a check for $26,000.

"I'm very thankful that Magic supported me like that and supported all those people and supported all those people that are affected by this disaster," Gasol said. "I want to thank him personally when I see him and everybody else that jumped on board in whatever scale and can help. I'm also thankful to them too."

Gasol was 10-for-15 from the field overall. He also had eight rebounds and made all six of his free throws.

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson was not opposed to Gasol getting involved in this charity effort.

What Jackson did not like was Gasol looking to score as many points as he could.

"There was one time when he didn't pass the ball and he should have passed the ball," Jackson said. "I did hit him up on it when he came to the bench, and he acknowledged it. That was the only time I thought, 'He's trying to score more than he should.' But then after the game I saw what it was all about and kind of understood.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I'm not particular a fan of that. But I am a fan of giving money to charity. I don't think point total should be the criteria."

Gasol just signed up for a Twitter account Friday, something he decided to do as a way to reach out to his fans.

By the end of the game Friday night, Gasol had almost 18,000 followers.

He said he had been advised to join the social-networking service.

"I didn't know how it worked that well because I wasn't familiar with it," Gasol said. "I know that it has a lot of success and it's a way to get to people and get your message across really direct, and also a good way to interact with fans and connect with different people."

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Finally, a game at Staples Center that didn't go overtime. The Clippers only wished it did.

After a week in which the Lakers and Clippers combined for five overtimes and 266 points in successive games, nobody played extra basketball Friday.

Kobe Bryant had 37 points and six assists, Pau Gasol had 26 points for a worthy cause, and the Lakers beat the Clippers, 112-104.

Not much can stop the Lakers these days, their record improving to 14-1 since the All-Star break and Andrew Bynum back from a two-game suspension.

Lakers blog: Round the clock purple & gold

The Clippers made it interesting, as they often do against their eminently more successful neighbors down the hall.

Friday's chapter didn't end cleanly, Chris Kaman getting ejected after jawing at Derek Fisher with 28.8 seconds left. Kaman and Fisher collided on a screen near the three-point line, and Kaman ended up pointing angrily at Fisher, motioning for him to meet in the hallway after the game.

The Clippers contended that Fisher made contact with Kaman's head on the play.

"There was no reason for that," Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Chris was just setting a good screen, a legal screen. Fisher came up high with the elbow. So the NBA will look at it, and they'll make those decisions."

All Things Lakers database

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said it was the other way around, that Kaman made contact with Fisher's head.

"Fish doesn't take kindly to that…" he said.

Kaman declined to comment, other than to say, "I'll get myself in trouble if I talk about it. I'd rather not do it."

Bryant bailed out the Lakers with seven consecutive points down the stretch, and Bynum added a tip-in off Fisher's missed free throw with 35.3 seconds left.

It prevented Jackson from losing his last Lakers-Clippers game, assuming he follows through on his oft-repeated desire to leave after the season.

He'll miss this rivalry greatly.

"Not really," he said.

Jackson finished 34-10 against the Clippers while coaching the Lakers, but credited them for sometimes forcing him to feel "dread" when the teams met because of the close nature of the games.

The Lakers (52-20) took three of four games from the Clippers (28-45) in the season series.

They also moved 11/2 games ahead of Dallas for second place in the Western Conference. For what it's worth, they also moved 11/2 ahead of slumping Boston, which lost at home Friday to Charlotte.

The Lakers couldn't be entirely happy, especially because they apparently don't like holding leads all of a sudden. They lost a 21-point advantage Tuesday against Phoenix that cost them three overtimes of extra work. On Friday, they held a 30-14 lead with 3:17 left in the first quarter but led by nine at halftime and only two early in the fourth quarter.

Mo Williams had 30 points and six assists for the Clippers, who were moving downcourt with the ball and a four-point deficit with 45 seconds to play. But Artest stole the ball from Blake Griffin, and the Clippers never threatened again.

Bynum had 11 points and 12 rebounds in his first game since his flagrant-foul suspension.

Gasol pledged to donate $1,000 per point to a Japan recovery fund sponsored by Direct Relief International. Magic Johnson later said he would match Gasol's donation, making it $52,000 earmarked for relief from the recent earthquake and tsunami.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

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