Oregon vs. UCLA: Score and Reaction from 2017 Regular Season

On Dec. 28, the UCLA Bruins (22-3, 9-3) blew a sizable lead in a two-point loss to the Oregon Ducks (21-4, 10-2). 

Thursday at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA flipped the script. 

In an 82-79 win, the 10th-ranked Bruins bested the fifth-ranked Ducks thanks to a monster 43-point second half keyed by a signature performance from point guard Lonzo Ball.  

Although he was silenced over the game's first 20 minutes, Ball finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, including a gigantic step-back dagger from well beyond the arc with 34 seconds remaining, as SportsCenter documented:  

DraftExpress' Mike Schmitz pointed to Ball's late-game performance as the driving force behind the Bruins' comeback win: 

Aaron Holiday tied Ball with a team-high 15 points off the bench, while Bryce Alford tallied 12 points and a team-high four assists in a wild back-and-forth affair that saw the Bruins fall behind big early. 

The Ducks opened up a 19-point lead at one point during the first half, and Dillon Brooks (19 points) helped fuel that fiery opening statement with a massive dunk over two UCLA defenders, as SportsCenter showed on Twitter: 

The Bruins pieced together a 14-0 run to cut into the Ducks' lead, but they still entered the locker room down nine because of seven first-half turnovers and inattentive defense, as Sporting News' Sam Vecenie explained: 

With Oregon surging, ESPN.com's Jeff Borzello noted the Ducks have been scorching against some of the Pac-12's best: 

But by the time the second half rolled around, the Bruins made a concerted effort to remedy those woes.

They broke out a zone and threw several defenders at Brooks to slow him down, and multiple looks helped disrupt the once uninterrupted flow of Oregon's offense. 

The Bruins were also aided by a dialed-in Ball, whose energy proved infectious following a lethargic first half, per Schmitz: 

Ball's defense of Brooks proved critical as well, per Vecenie, and it initiated the game's decisive momentum swing: 

With the freshman sensation leading the charge, the avalanche began. 

UCLA's offense started to heat up, and the Ducks watched helplessly as the tide turned.  

According to the Daily Bruin's Matt Cummings, Oregon shot 33.3 percent in the second half, including 6-of-18 from three, with the result hanging in the balance. 

Now owners of three straight wins following a pair of losses, UCLA will attempt to stretch its winning streak to four when the Oregon State Beavers trek to Pauley on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, the Ducks will attempt to get back in the win column Saturday against the USC Trojans in the second half of the program's two-step in Los Angeles. 

Postgame Reaction

After the win, Cummings relayed video of head coach Steve Alford's opening remarks: 

"Our crowd was tremendous...in my four years Pauley hasn't sounded like that," Alford added, per FoxLA.com's Liz Habib. 

Speaking of Ball, Alford said he "just figures out how to win games," per the Daily Bruin's Derrek Li. 

UCLA's Twitter account later posted footage of the team's post-game celebration: 

"We just got stuck in the mud the last 10 minutes and they played better than us down the stretch," Oregon head coach Dana Altman said, according to GoDucks.com. 

Altman also admitted it looked "like we were pretty gassed at the end," per the Oregonian's Tyson Alger.