Los Angeles Clippers Basketball Team

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."

The losing began for the Clippers four weeks earlier in Milwaukee, a 34-point beating that sent them spiraling. The winning began for the Clippers on Saturday night against the same Milwaukee Bucks, a 101-92 victory at Staples Center that did not come without yet another Clippers injury. Center Marcus Camby, having another solid game, suffered a sprained left ankle in the fourth quarter. Camby underwent an X-ray, which was negative, and was listed as day-to-day.

Maybe the Clippers can see this as a bit of good news. When the team had its shoot-around Saturday, injured players Baron Davis and Zach Randolph both put in a little work. With that in mind, Coach Mike Dunleavy was asked how close Davis, who missed his eighth consecutive game because of a bruised tailbone, and Randolph, who missed his 11th consecutive game because of a sore left knee, are to playing again. "I saw them on the court shooting for the first day today," Dunleavy said.

It's not exactly true that Marcus Camby is the Last Clipper Standing, although there aren't many of them. Of course, there are none like him, with the Clippers or anyone else. At 34, chained to a team that started the weekend 8-30, he has just moved ahead of 23-year-old Dwight Howard for the league lead in rebounds and is No. 2 to him in blocked shots.

DeAndre Jordan, the irrepressible Clippers center, had big plans after an inspirational Tuesday morning. "I'm going to run for president," he said, joking. "I'm working on it." What about a stop along the way -- like the Senate -- before trying to follow President Barack Obama's footsteps? "No, straight to it," Jordan said. Hmm, higher office or dealing with the likes of the Lakers' Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol tonight at Staples Center.

One absent Marcus Camby meant two eye-opening words for the Lakers' Andrew Bynum. Career night. Or if you want to continue the political theme: Running unopposed. Bynum had 42 points and 15 rebounds in the Lakers' 108-97 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night at Staples Center in front of a sellout crowd. Bynum's previous high was 28 points, and he eclipsed that mark early in the third quarter, pounding home a one-handed dunk. Speaking of pounding . . .

How exactly did the Clippers reach win No. 10 after 42 games? A) By fighting through with a rag-tag, depleted lineup, which got even lighter when the starting point guard left the game with an injury in the first quarter and did not return. B) With a career night from a young shooting guard, fondly known among teammates as The Hobbit, who recorded the most points for a rookie in Clippers history. C) By surviving an offensive onslaught from a star forward flirting with 50 points.

He probably didn't intend for it to sound humorous. But his first three words worked on a couple of levels. "We're warriors, man," Baron Davis said at practice Saturday. "We've got a lot of heart. Everybody is down on us right now and counting us out. But the fact of the matter is that a lot of our young guys and our bench has developed." Davis was talking about his hardy band of Clippers brothers-in-arms.

Corey Maggette simply took pleasure in winning, whether it came against his former team or anyone else. Maggette scored 20 points and the Golden State Warriors ended a two-game slide Sunday night with a 107-92 victory over the Clippers. "It's just special to get a win," said Maggette, who played for the Clippers the previous eight seasons. "I know they were undermanned over there, and we just wanted to go out there and get us a win."

The Clippers reserves -- in some cases, all three of them -- have adopted a new tradition this season of standing slightly off to the corner until their teammates score. All giving new meaning to the phrase "stand up and be counted." It's a good thing they don't do it to start each quarter because it would have been a particularly tough wait Monday night. Not tough in terms of mere time but painful in watching a fourth quarter of a seemingly winnable game slip away.