Consistency eludes Thornton

On one hand, there was the nearly undetectable Al Thornton, an oh-so-quiet five points in the first half against the Hawks.

Then there was his fourth-quarter, bring-them-out-of-their-seats, one-handed dunk over Atlanta’s Solomon Jones, fairly shaking Staples Center on Wednesday night.

That’s vintage Thornton.

“He’s got a world of talent,” Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “The biggest thing with him is consistency.”

Dunleavy talked about the great plays that Thornton makes but noted that he “kind of disappears.”

Dunleavy added, “Maybe my expectations for him have been high.”

Thornton is averaging 17.0 points and is coming off back-to-back performances of 25 points against Atlanta and 23 against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

The pressure on Thornton, now in his second season in the NBA, and rookie Eric Gordon has increased by virtue of the Clippers’ current injury predicament.

Thornton said recently he knows that the Clippers need strong games from himself and Gordon in order to have a realistic shot at winning.

Marcus Camby noted the Clippers’ 12-game losing streak feels more like 30.

“You’re playing game by game, you’re just trying to get a win,” Dunleavy said. “The main thing you’re looking for is that consistent effort. It’s not just the physical effort.

“But there’s a mental aspect to it as well, not making errant passes and plays or mistakes that make you pay the price in the open court.”

Etc.

The plan was to limit swingman Ricky Davis to 15 minutes in his return to action on Wednesday, and his time confined to the first half against Atlanta.

The team is trying to take it easy with Davis and his sore left knee, so Dunleavy held him out of practice Thursday.

“He’s still trying to go through the strengthening process,” Dunleavy said.

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