Tyson Chandler swats Trae Young for Lakers win

Nov. 12 (UPI) — Tyson Chandler gave Trae Young the rookie block treatment in the final seconds of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 107-106 win against the Atlanta Hawks.

The 7-foot-1 veteran center smacked away a game-winning attempt from the 6-foot-2 rookie at the buzzer on Sunday at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Young had the ball with just seconds remaining in regulation as the Hawks’ trailed by one point. He cruised by his defender and sprinted into the paint on the play. He left his feet as Chandler stood under the rim.

Young laid up a soft shot and Chandler was having none of it. The Lakers big man jumped straight up, avoiding contact with Young and getting a few fingers on the ball at its highest point, denying the hero-play from the youngster.

Chandler’s Lakers teammates celebrated wildly with him on the baseline after the game-saving rejection.

“Honestly you are just trying to make plays,” Chandler said. “You aren’t necessarily thinking about that. You just want to win.”

“I was just trying to time [Young] down the stretch. I saw that he committed to the basket. I was watching the clock. I knew he didn’t have enough time to go to my guy so I committed at the rim.”

LeBron James scored a game-high 26 points and had seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in the win. Chandler had four points, five rebounds, three blocks, two steals and an assists in 21 minutes.

“I believe that for him to be playing winning basketball once again, those emotions came out,” James said. “To make a game-winning block, you don’t see that much in our league. You see a lot of game-winning shots, you see game-winning assists. For you to see a game-winning defensive block like that, you don’t see that much in our league. For him to go up there and get that on a guy that is shooting a floater — and time it perfectly — we are all excited about that.”

Chandler and the Lakers will attempt to win their fourth-consecutive game against the Portland Trail Blazers at 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Staples Center.