Following his debut with the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, Tyson Chandler compared LeBron James' closing skills to those of his former Dallas Mavericks teammate, Dirk Nowitzki.

James led the Lakers in Thursday night's 114-110 victory over the Timberwolves, scoring 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field (3-of-9 from beyond the arc), 10 rebounds, nine assists and two blocks. The King fell just shy of his 75th triple-double.

Chandler, who tallied two points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes of action against the Wolves, has witnessed great performances by James in the past. However, now that they're wearing the same uniform, Chandler's respect for James has grown even more.

Chandler, now 36 years of age, joined the Lakers on Tuesday after reaching a buyout agreement with the Phoenix Suns. The Southern California native received a nice ovation from the hometown crowd.

“It's honestly all love,” Chandler told ESPN. “I love this city the way they love me. When you're homegrown from here and going to high school and all that and you've had these same fans, and now you represent the jersey that everybody has been cheering for their entire lives, you kind of become one. I've been on the other side and played the villain. Now it's great to be on this side and actually rep them.”

The Lakers will be back in action on Saturday night, when they'll travel to Sacramento for a match-up against the Kings. Tip-off inside the Golden 1 Center is set for 10:00 p.m. EST.