National Basketball Association
UCLA 72, Utah 70
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 31, 2020
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California
Officials:
# Frank Harvey, # Tom Nunez, # Kipp Kissinger
Attendance:
N/A
By Field Level Media
Chris Smith led four UCLA double-figure scorers with 16 points, and the Bruins survived for a back-and-forth, 72-70 win over Utah on Thursday in Los Angeles.
UCLA (6-2, 2-0 Pac-12) overcame a 12-point, first-half deficit, gave up a 10-point lead in the second and ultimately escaped thanks to a pair of late-game steals by Tyger Campbell and Jules Bernard.
Campbell's theft with 31 seconds remaining led to a pair of critical Jalen Hill free throws that gave UCLA a 70-66 lead. With the Bruins holding a two-point lead in the final seconds, Bernard denied Utah a look at a shot when he picked off a Pelle Larsson pass.
The tumultuous closing minutes capped an up-and-down game and extended Utah's losing streak in Pac-12 road games to 11 contests, dating back to February 2019.
Utah (4-2, 1-1) raced out to a 16-4 lead in the first 4:19 on the strength of four made Alfonso Plummer 3-pointers. Plummer finished with a game-high 22 points.
UCLA responded quickly to the initial deluge with a 14-0 run, and the Bruins outscored the Utes for the rest of the half 37-16 to take a nine-point halftime lead.
UCLA's advantage evaporated over the course of the second half. Utah cut the deficit to two points midway through the half, then took the lead with 7:17 remaining on a pair of Riley Battin fouls shots. Mikael Jantunen's baby hook on the low block extended the advantage to three and capped a 12-2 run.
The Bruins answered with back-to-back and-one plays to recapture a lead they did not relinquish the rest of the way -- though they never pushed it beyond four points.
The Utes shot 9 of 22 from behind the 3-point arc, but Plummer cooled after his early onslaught to go 0-for-7 the rest of the way.
With Utah trailing by three points and five seconds remaining, Plummer drew a foul on Bernard while looking for the would-be game-tying 3-pointer. Plummer missed the first of three free throws but sank the other two.
Timmy Allen scored 18 points for the Utes.
UCLA shot 10-for-20 from long distance. Bernard and Johnny Juzang both finished with 13 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 10. Campbell dished 10 assists to go with his nine points.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Utah |
|
UCLA |
|
Alfonso Plummer 22 |
Scoring |
Chris Smith 16 |
|
Rylan Jones 4 |
Assists |
Tyger Campbell 10 |
|
Timmy Allen 6 |
Rebounds |
Jalen Hill 5 |
|
Alfonso Plummer 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Jalen Hill 6 |
|
Timmy Allen 1 |
Steals |
Tyger Campbell 2 |
|
Branden Carlson 2 |
Blocks |
Jules Bernard 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Utah
|
70 |
50.0 |
9-22 |
9-12 |
10 |
25 |
2 |
2 |
10 |
| UCLA
|
72 |
46.4 |
10-20 |
10-14 |
16 |
28 |
3 |
5 |
9 |
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