Clippers' Tim Thomas is back in business

Before the team's game against Sacramento, Thomas joked with teammates in the locker room and enthusiastically laced up his shoes. He indicated he was ready to play even if he has to "jump in and deal with whatever happens later."

Meanwhile, Coach Mike Dunleavy was debating whether he should start Thomas or have him come off the bench.

Dunleavy chose the latter. Thomas came off the bench starting in the second quarter, playing 21 minutes and scoring 12 points.

Before the Kings' game, Thomas had been averaging 14.6 points per game in his first five games, second on the team to second-year forward Al Thornton's 16.8 points per game.

He credited that initial success to his decision to start working out in July, two months earlier than his usual routine. Thomas still lives near his alma mater, Villanova, in Philadelphia and works out with the Wildcats.

"I came in with a nice rhythm," Thomas said. "It just seems like that carried over. Then I was a step ahead of everybody. Now it seems like everybody's catching up."

Coming from humble origins

The path Kings guard Jason Thompson took to becoming this year's No. 12 pick in the NBA draft doesn't represent the typical road map.

After playing at Lenape High in New Jersey, he played for Rider of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference after more prominent programs largely ignored him. Thompson ranks among the top five in his class in points, rebounds and shooting percentage.

Thompson scored 15 points in 34 minutes against the Clippers in his second career start, providing a viable option while Kevin Martin's sprained ankle is keeping him on the sidelines. Against Detroit on Tuesday, Thompson scored 15 points on seven-for-10 shooting, and had nine rebounds.

Dunleavy, who used the Clippers' seventh overall pick to select Eric Gordon, said L.A. didn't necessarily overlook Thompson.

"We weren't in that area of drafting," Dunleavy said. "We were drafting higher or lower. We didn't put a whole lot of study into him from his standpoint. If we had moved up, we would've been looking in other positions. I like him. I think he's a good player."

Cleaning the glass

Despite the victory against the Mavericks on Sunday, the Clippers were out-rebounded, 19-15, continuing a trend in which teams have out-rebounded the Clippers in six of their eight games, including Sacramento. The Kings out-rebounded L.A., 38-30.

"We're giving up too many offensive possessions back on second-chance points," center Chris Kaman said. "We're going to lock that down pretty soon. It's just all a matter of time before we get it all figured it out together."

Dunleavy provided a simple solution to the problem.

"Box out," Dunleavy said. "If we box out on every shot, we'll probably do a much better job on our rebounding."

Medina is a Times staff writer.

mark.medina@latimes.com