DENVER – Marcus Thornton has thrived since being traded to Sacramento last season.
Entering Wednesday's game against the Nuggets at Pepsi Center, Thornton led the Kings in scoring with a 17.5-point average.
Controlling Thornton has been tough as long as he has been a King.
"Figuring out how to cover his jump shot is interesting," said Denver coach George Karl. "He can make the three ball, and when he gets hot, can make shots with a hand in his face. I don't think he is a consistent scorer, but I think he is an explosive scorer."
After scoring a season-low five points against Memphis on Tuesday night, Thornton had 23 points in the Kings' 110-83 loss to the Nuggets.
Voting time – Three Kings are on the ballot for this year's NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, Fla.
Tyreke Evans and Thornton are among the 24 guards fans can vote into the starting lineup for the Western Conference.
DeMarcus Cousins is among the 12 centers that can be selected by fans for the Western Conference.
There are 120 players on the ballot. They were picked by four journalists who cover the NBA: Bill Simmons (Grantland), Sekou Smith (NBA.com), Doug Smith (Toronto Star/PBWA) and Ian Thomsen (Sports Illustrated).
Voting on NBA.com or via text messaging will continue through Jan. 31. The All-Star Game is Feb. 26.
Forward Peja Stojakovic and center Brad Miller (2004) were the last Kings to make the All-Star team. Both were named as reserves.
The Kings' participation in All-Star Weekend the last two seasons has been in the Rookie-Sophomore game (Evans and Omri Casspi in 2010, and Cousins and Evans in 2011).
Back-to-back – Wednesday's game was the Kings' third set of back-to-back games this season. The Kings fell to 1-2 in the second of back-to-back games.
The Kings host the Milwaukee Bucks tonight. It will be the only time the Kings play three games in consecutive nights this season.
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