Tomorrow’s story tonight …

The Clippers needed one sound quarter to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night at Staples Center, one 12-minute span when the good outweighed the bad and their promise met their expectations.

After all their missed shots and misplays, the Clippers really only needed to master the game for the fourth quarter to subdue the more energetic Cavaliers and improve their record to 3-1 to start the season.

Didn’t happen.

The Cavaliers wouldn’t allow it, holding off the Clippers down the stretch with superb long-distance shooting from youthful guards Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving and taking a 108-101 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 19,060.

Waiters swished two clutch 3-pointers and Irving hit another critical 3 for the Cavaliers after the Clippers rallied from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to tie the score at 94-all with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the game.

Waiters scored a team-leading 28 points, and Irving had 24.

The Clippers could have survived the Cavaliers’ onslaught and maybe even thrived if they had held a tighter grip on the ball, if they boxed out a little better and more often and if they had a better start than their sputtering first quarter.

The Clippers had a season-high 25 turnovers, gave up 18 offensive rebounds to the Cavaliers, surrendered 31 points in the first quarter and never led after Jamal Crawford completed a three-point play to make it 42-41 with 5:02 left in the half.

“This is our job to come out here and play, so we have to have that energy,”
Clippers point guard Chris Paul said after scoring 17 points, grabbing five rebounds and adding nine assists. “We have to come out ready to play and perform better than that.”

“In the fourth quarter we played with a chip on our shoulders,” Paul added. “We’ve got to do that from the jump.”

Actually, the Clippers raced to a 7-0 lead after 2 minutes, 15 seconds, forcing the Cavaliers to take a timeout in order to regroup. The rest of the first half didn’t go as well for the Clippers. The third quarter wasn’t anything to cheer either.

Cleveland led by as many as 13 points before the Clippers rallied. The Clippers tied it, but couldn’t get in front of the Cavaliers. It was a similar story Saturday, when the Clippers fell behind the Golden State Warriors and couldn’t get ahead of them.

The Warriors beat them 114-110.

“We have to do it, it’s as simple as that,” center DeAndre Jordan said of the Clippers’ lackluster starts, poor ballhandling and so-so rebounding the last two games. “We can’t keep talking about it. We can’t have too many excuses.”

Blake Griffin scored a team-leading 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting plus six rebounds for the Clippers (2-2), Crawford added 19 points in a reserve role, Caron Butler and Eric Bledsoe each scored 11 points and Jordan had 10 points.

None of the Clippers played with the gusto of the Cavaliers’ Anderson Varejao and Tyler Zeller, however. Varejao scored 15 points and grabbed a team-leading 15 rebounds and Zeller had 15 points and seven rebounds in a reserve role.

The Clippers start right where they left off last season, winning a gritty, physical game against Memphis, the team they beat in the first-round of the Western Conference playoffs last year. What does this mean for the season? Here’s my columnn on the Clippers big season-opening win.

Tomorrow’s notebook today …

Lamar Odom practiced with his teammates Monday for the first time since they returned form China three weeks ago and said he hoped to play in the Clippers’ regular-season opener Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Odom also said he hoped he would be the “Lamar of 2010.” He wouldn’t say whether he believed he had something to prove to his detractors. He couldn’t say when his knees began to ache and declined to say whether he was overweight.

“I’ve won on the highest level,” he said during an occasionally pointed and often humorous 6 1/2-minute conversation with reporters. “After that, you just prove to yourself, can you do it again? I’m a competitor, a professional competitor, so …

“If it was chess, I would want to beat you. If it was a debate, I would want to beat you. I compete for a living. That’s what I do. If it’s (video games), I want to win. Game of cards. Shooting game. I compete against myself for a living.

“That’s what I’ve done since I can remember. So, having something to prove to myself, that’s always. If me and you were to race right now, I’d knock you down and try to beat you. I want to win. That’s what’s got me here.”

Perhaps that’s true, but the road has been a bumpy one recently for Odom.
In fact, he revealed last week he sought counseling during the summer, after a failed season with the Dallas Mavericks, after he demanded the Lakers trade him last December, after they tried and failed to deal him to the New Orleans Hornets.

Odom arrived for his second stint with the Clippers after a trade with Dallas last summer with his trademark smile and good humor. He also appeared to be carrying some extra baggage on his 6-foot-10 frame to start training camp.

After playing three exhibitions, including two in China, he went to the sideline because of sore knees. He finally returned to the practice court Monday and said he participated in “a little more than half” of the team’s workout.

“Feel good,” he said, smiling. “Still know how to play.”

Odom’s demeanor changed asked about the doubts of others.

“Part of our business is that people doubt you,” Odom said.

In a moment, he was cheerful again, laughing and joking.

“I was awesome,” Odom said, smiling as he recounted his play during the Clippers’ scrimmage. “Proving all the doubters wrong, hitting shots. Making passes. I hit a skyhook today, right in their face, all the doubters.”

Coach Vinny Del Negro said he would wait to see how Odom fares in today’s practice before saying whether he could play Wednesday against Memphis. Del Negro also said he’d increase Odom’s workload in today’s workout.

—Injury updates

Del Negro said there continues to be no timetable for guard Chauncey Billups’ debut after he suffered a season-ending Achilles’ tendon injury last Feb. 16. Billups didn’t practice with his teammates Monday and is not expected to play Wednesday.

There also is no estimate as to when backup forward Grant Hill will be fit to make his Clippers debut. Hill said last Wednesday he would be sidelined for at least two more weeks because of a bone bruise in his right knee.