Clippers’ Thornton leads rout of Grizzlies

He sat by himself, at his locker beforehand, conceding that he was plain tuckered out.

A recent trip, tacked onto a long season, added on top of summer league play.

A rookie wall seemingly closing in on Al Thornton?

Not quite.

He exploded for a career-high 39 points, vaulting the Clippers to a 110-97 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday in a late-season meeting of the meek.

“Obviously, it’s nice to get back in the win column,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “It’s been a while.”

That’s a bit of an understatement.

The win somewhat puts the brakes on an accelerated season-ending skid. The Clippers ended a 10-game losing streak, their longest in four seasons.

But Thornton, who battled a sore hamstring the past few days, continues to be a bright spot in a dreary season.

“It’s just good to get a win,” Thornton said. “This year has been a learning experience for me and I think I’ve learned a lot.”

His outpouring ties the scoring high among franchise rookies and is the most of any Clipper this season. Terry Cummings and Tom Chambers also achieved the mark as rookies.

He scored a bit outside, but mostly inside on a dizzying array of drives cutting through the Grizzlies’ defense.

Thornton ended 13 for 23 from the field and shot 10 of 12 from the free-throw line.

A new record was tantalizingly in his grasp.

With 1 minute 3 seconds to play, Thornton missed the first of two free throws.

Corey Maggette provided balanced scoring with 26 points. Brevin Knight had 14 points and 11 assists.

Chris Kaman played his third game since returning from a bothersome lower back and provided a reminder of his play in the first half of the season by collecting 10 points and 15 rebounds.

He joined all five starters in double-figure scoring.

Their head-scratching stunner over the Lakers a day earlier aside, the Grizzlies (19-54) figure to be right by the Clippers’ side come summer.

In the draft’s lottery.

The Clippers (22-51) own the league’s sixth-worst record. The Grizzlies have the fourth-worst tally.

The titleholder of the worst overall record receives a 25% chance of drafting first overall. The Clippers currently have a 5.3% chance of landing the top pick; the Grizzlies a 13.7% chance.

Still, first comes the conclusion of an injury-riddled season with the Clippers barreling toward their worst record since finishing 15-67 in 1999-2000.

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The Clippers could at least have a playoff spoiler soon joining their ranks in Elton Brand.

His return appears on the horizon, possibly as soon as this week.

Brand is medically cleared to play with his surgically repaired Achilles’ heel fully healed, but conditioning remains another issue.

“We’ll have a better feel for it Monday,” Brand said. “Another day of trying to get some work in [Sunday] and we’ll know.”

Brand also maintained he intends to be a Clipper next season.

He again fell just short of saying he will not use his opt-out clause and test free agency. Brand is believed to still be wavering on whether to opt out of the final year of his contract in which he is due $16.4 million.

Few teams, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Grizzlies among them, are expected to have enough salary-cap space to sign a high-profile free agent.

And each has its own in-house concerns.

The 76ers are expected to focus their efforts on resigning forward Andre Iguodala and the Grizzlies are expected to remain in rebuilding limbo next season.

The Miami Heat, a favored destination for Brand, would only have space if forward Shawn Marion opted out of his contract, an unlikely scenario because he is owed $17.8 million.

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Quinton Ross (sore foot) and Tim Thomas (bilateral sore Achilles’ heel) did not play.

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jonathan.abrams@latimes.com