LOS ANGELES _ Tyson Chandler beat his chest and pumped his arms in the air again and again. Then he threw back his head and roared as LeBron James rushed over to throw his arms around Chandler.
The Los Angeles Lakers' backup center had just blocked a shot attempt by Atlanta guard Trae Young at the buzzer to give the Lakers a 107-106 win. On the second night of a back-to-back, coming off a blowout win in Sacramento, the Lakers held on to hand Atlanta its fourth consecutive loss.
The Lakers are 7-6, their first time with a winning record in nearly two years.
The Lakers took their first lead of the game with 6:04 left in the first quarter when Josh Hart hit a three-pointer to make the score 13-11.
During the third quarter, LeBron James began to take over the game, notching 10 points three assists and four rebounds just during that period. The Lakers built a 15-point lead in the third but Atlanta wasn't finished.
Eight points and four assists from Young in the first seven and a half minutes of the fourth quarter helped Atlanta take their first lead of the second half.
Atlanta had the lead with less than a minute left. With 19 second left and the Lakers down by one, James drove to the rim and was fouled hard. He missed both free throws.
But his teammate Kyle Kuzma caught the rebound off his second miss, shot the ball and missed, giving James a chance at redemption. James' putback dunk sent the crowd into a frenzy and he hung from the basket first with his legs curled up, then in a straight line, as they roared.
Young had one last chance to take the game, but Chandler was waiting for him at the rim.
