LOS ANGELES- Tony Parker scored a career-high 22 points off the bench to lead five players in double figures as UCLA notched a 91-74 victory over Stanford on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.
Despite receiving double-doubles from both Josh Huestis (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Dwight Powell (17 points, 13 rebounds) for the second straight game, Stanford (12-6, 3-3 Pac-12) was victimized by 38.6 percent shooting and 19 turnovers.
Tonight marked only the second time this year Stanford was held to under 40.0 percent shooting. The Cardinal shot a season-low 35.0 percent in a 53-51 upset at No. 10/10 Connecticut on Dec. 18.
Meanwhile, the Cardinal’s 19 turnovers were the most since committing 22 in a 71-59 home win over Denver last December. It was an uncharacteristic total for Stanford, which had registered fewer than 10 turnovers in each of its last three games.
Conversely, UCLA (15-4, 4-2 Pac-12) shot 52.3 percent overall and dished out 23 assists while committing only six turnovers. The Bruins, who received 13 points and 10 assists from Kyle Anderson, also racked up 15 steals.
The first half featured 14 lead changes and three ties before the Bruins grabbed a 42-31 halftime advantage. Stanford’s largest lead came at 20-17 following a pair of free throws from Chasson Randle, who finished with 14 points (3-16 FG, 7-8 FT).
Trailing 23-22, UCLA closed out the final nine minutes of the first half on a 19-8 scoring run.
Stanford cut the deficit to 10 multiple times in the second half, only to see UCLA answer each charge.
Anthony Brown added 12 points for Stanford, which has now scored at least 70 points in 13 games this year.
Stanford concludes its road trip on Sunday, Jan. 26, at USC. Tip is set for 2 p.m.
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NOTES: Stanford has dropped nine in a row to UCLA in Los Angeles, last winning on Jan. 20, 2005 … For the third time this year, Josh Huestis and Dwight Powell recorded double-doubles in the same game, also accomplishing the feat against Connecticut (Dec. 18) and Washington (Jan. 18) … Huestis has notched four double-doubles this year and 15 in his career while Powell has tallied six double-doubles this year and 19 for his career … Stanford owned a 42-33 rebounding advantage … Stefan Nastic knocked down both of his free throw attempts, ending an 0-6 skid … John Gage finished with six points off the bench and has now made 10 of his last 15 attempts from three-point territory … Stanford’s nine three-pointers were its most since knocking down 11-20 from beyond the arc against UC Davis on Dec. 14 … UCLA’s 15 assists were the most by an opponent since Syracuse finished with 19 on Nov. 25, 2011 … Kyle Anderson became the first opposing player to post a double-digit assist total since Arizona State’s Derek Glasser also finished with 10 assists on Jan. 30, 2010.
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QUOTES
Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins
“We have to execute better. We didn’t execute as well as we have been, and it’s really disappointing. Especially our defensive execution in the paint, which we have been good at all year, but not tonight. You have to give credit to Tony Parker. He did a great job of finishing around the basket, but we have to a better job of denying those passes.”
“During the first-half run by UCLA, the turnovers really hurt us and led to them getting fast-break baskets. Also, we missed opportunities on a few possessions in a row. We tried to stem the tide with a couple of timeouts, but they certainly had the momentum.”
Chasson Randle
“UCLA’s run in the first half really hurt us. It was the turnovers, and then we didn’t get stops defensively. And that’s what happens when teams go on a run. We just have to learn from it, move on and get ready for Sunday afternoon. I started out a little slow because UCLA did a good job making sure they knew where I was at all times.”
Dwight Powell
“We weren’t playing the offense like we should during their first-half run. We gave them a lot of easy looks, but that’s what they do. If you don’t take care of the ball, they are going to take advantage of it. UCLA also did a good job of pressuring us. They were in our lanes, but we did not take advantage of our opportunities. When you are down to a good team like that, you really have to push hard because they are not going to let you back into the game. We have to take lessons from this game and move on.”
UCLA Head Coach Steve Alford
“I’m really proud of this basketball team. To bounce back like that after a loss and to fight like that at home to win was important. From start to finish, except for maybe the last three minutes of the first half, we played really well. We battled all night on the boards and defensively. We got back to who we were and played really good on offense. Our assist to turnover ratio was back to where it should be.”
“We’ll have to watch film to see the differences from the Utah game, but we scored 91 points. We haven’t slowed down our pace, but we are not hurried like we were before. Shooting 52 percent from the field and shooting 25 free throws says a lot. We found better shots and just had really good ball movement.”
“Tony Parker was terrific. That’s the sign of a good team. When others are hurting, you have others pick it up. Tony really stepped up for us. I thought he did a really good job once we got the ball inside to him. He played 28 minutes and he played with really good energy and urgency and battled on both ends.”
Tony Parker
“After the Utah game, I watched a lot of clips of Kevin Love and Zach Randolph, who are my favorite players, and I noticed that they stayed around the arc and were active. So tonight, I decided to stay around the arc and I kept moving. We play inside-out. It makes the game much easier, and it makes it easier for our guards to get shots off.”
Jordan Adams
“Coach made an emphasis after Utah of having me cut better so I could get easier looks. Coach also stressed the extra pass. The extra pass was good because the first option won’t always be there, so it will get us better looks.”