LOS ANGELES — Lonzo Ball makes you wonder how far UCLA can go if he goes every night the way he did in No. 10 UCLA’s 82-79 victory over No. 5 Oregon on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion, where he nailed a clutch 3-pointer with 32 seconds to play.
Yes, UCLA’s defense often feels like a tattered mosquito net on a hot summer night. But its offense, with Ball as its catalyst, is as cool as Denzel Washington smoking a cigar while listening to Miles Davis on the beach.
With the win, the Bruins avoided a fourth loss in Pac-12 play and stayed in the race. And they added a crucial win to their NCAA tournament résumé.
But that wasn’t the lesson here.
This was: Ball (15 points, 11 rebounds) can lead the Bruins anywhere he wants in the postseason.
And while it’s fair to question a team ranked 114th in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom.com entering the game — every national champion since 2001-02 has finished in the top 25 — it’s also prudent to consider the magic Ball might make with this potent UCLA offense for three weeks in the NCAA tournament.
“We know March is gonna be tough and games like this get you ready for it,” Ball said after the game, which his team won after facing a 19-point deficit in the first half. “Coach [Steve Alford] has been preaching all February that February sets up March.”
Hours before his clutch 3-pointer, Ball was dancing.
On the Pauley floor, an hour before tipoff, the freshman bobbed his head as the heavy beat to “Sneakin’,” a collaboration by rappers Drake and 21 Savage, sprayed the arena. And when 21 Savage said, “They was hatin’ on me then and they hatin’ now,” Ball seemed inspired.
Ball shook his shoulders, shuffled his feet and put his hand in the air. Then, he nailed a deep 3. And another. One more after that. He never stopped dancing.
Perhaps, in that pregame moment, he’d traveled to Lonzo’s World, a cerebral place where he assesses the daunting feats most achieve via precision, patience and luck, figuring he can handle them all without losing his cool.
“Nah, I don’t get nervous,” he said after the game. “It’s the game of basketball. Something I’ve been working for my whole life.”
In the final minutes of Thursday’s game, Ball pushed his team and hit the breathtaking heights the nation’s most exciting offense can reach. With Oregon’s Dylan Ennis shadowing him, the teenager stepped back and nailed a 30-footer, a play that punctuated UCLA’s huge comeback against one of the nation’s best defensive teams.
The same Bruins who’d entered halftime down nine outscored Oregon 43-31 in the second half.
“We have a lot of confidence when he gets going like that because we know he’s going to score,” said Aaron Holiday, one of five Bruins who finished in double figures. “And that just opens the game up for us as well. When he’s in attack mode, what I call it, they’re going to shrink, we’re going to get kickouts and open 3-pointers, so it’s real good when he does that.”
In the second half, Alford told Ball to guard Oregon star Dillon Brooks (19 points, 7-for-17). He said Ball’s defense halted the Canadian’s rhythm and helped UCLA climb back into the game.
Ball’s defense certainly affected the outcome of a significant matchup. But he had some help, as the entire Bruins team put forth a stronger effort on defense after halftime.
But Ball’s late-game playmaking, which also included a key layup, sealed the victory.
Alford said he hated to watch Ball take the kind of shot he made in the final seconds — a step-back, contested 3-pointer — but now he encourages him.
“He’s just got that feel,” Alford said, “and I trust him.”
He trusts a freshman. With the most potent offense in America. In a two-month stretch that could lead to redemptive success for a UCLA team that missed the NCAA tournament last season … or a great collapse if the defensive woes persist.
Alford knows, however, his point guard is special. And the presumptive final months of his collegiate career will give Ball more opportunities to prove as much.
“You know, it’s my time to do what I gotta do,” Ball said about his clutch playmaking Thursday. “The team comes to me in these types of situations. And I had the ball and I just wanted to win.”
And that should scare every opponent remaining on UCLA’s schedule.
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