During the fourth quarter of Thursday night's 93-81 win over the short-handed San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers power forward Larry Nance Jr. showed hoops fan everywhere why he should be considered for this season's NBA Dunk Contest.

With the Lakers leading by five points in the waning minutes of Thursday's game, Nance intercepted a Spurs pass, hustled down the floor, then threw down a thunderous one-handed alley-oop slam from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Nance went on to score 14 points and 10 rebounds against the Spurs. Brandon Ingram scored a team-high 26 points, while Lonzo Ball added 18.

Prior to their current three-game winning streak, the Lakers had dropped nine consecutive games. Nance says he's glad the team is playing better.

“We're focused on defense, effort and energy, really,” Nance told ESPN after Thursday's game, referring to the Lakers' winning streak. “I don't know what it was, but it was about time we got out of that rut.”

In his 30 games played for the Lakers this season, Nance has turned in averages of 8.8 points on 59.9 percent shooting from the field, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.

Believe it or not, Nance's father, Larry Sr., won the NBA's first dunk contest in 1984. It's probably safe to say that Jr. has been taught well.

The Lakers, now 14-27 overall, will be back in action on Saturday, as they're scheduled for a match-up against the Dallas Mavericks inside American Airlines Arena. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. EST with Spectrum SportsNet and Fox Sports Southwest having live broadcast coverage.