TEMPE, Ariz. “”mdash; The UCLA men’s basketball team was forced to pick its poison on Thursday night.
After being torched for 24 points by Arizona State guard James Harden earlier this season, the Bruins (19-5, 8-3 Pac-10) were determined to prevent a repeat performance.
No. 11 UCLA accomplished that, holding Harden, the leading scorer in the Pac-10, to just 15 points on five-of-eight shooting.
But the sophomore from Los Angeles still found a way to contribute, doing most of the damage with his passing.
“James did a good job of getting (the ball) to open people,” senior guard Darren Collison said. “We wanted to help a little bit more, but he hit the right people.”
Harden had 11 assists, the biggest coming with just over a minute to go when he found open teammate Derek Glasser.
Indicative of the way things went for most of the night, Glasser knocked down the 3-pointer to give the No. 18 Sun Devils the lead for good.
“I just played my game,” Harden said. “I played the way I always play ““ attack the basket, try to find open players, and (my teammates) knocked down some shots (Thursday).”
The Sun Devils (19-5, 8-4 Pac-10) hit 11-of-18 attempts from beyond the arc.
“A number of them were open 3s because we were trying so hard to help on Harden,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “It ended up costing us because we gave up a few too many wide-open 3s.”
Harden was effective in the first half, scoring 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Yet UCLA’s constant barrage of double-teams in the second half stopped Harden from getting to basket ““ something he executed well at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 17, when he attempted a game-high of nine free throws.
When Harden was able to find a crease, Collison said that the Bruins did a good job of crashing on him.
Despite the defense, UCLA might have focused too much on Harden.
“We were helping off Harden too much, trying to stop him from getting his,” redshirt junior guard Michael Roll said. “They’re all good shooters and they just kicked out and made open shots.”
Harden finished three rebounds short of a triple-double. ASU shot 60 percent as a team and had five players score in double digits.
“He just found his teammates,” senior guard Josh Shipp said. “They knocked down big shots for him. He didn’t force anything and played real smart.”
NOT HIS ‘DAY: Freshman guard Jrue Holiday attempted five shots, but none went in on Thursday.
Things didn’t get any easier on the defensive end as Holiday had the task of containing Harden, one of the nation’s most dynamic offensive players. All aspects of Thursday’s game frustrated Holiday.
“Every way,” he said. “Offensively, I didn’t think I did well enough. Defensively, I don’t think I did well enough.”
DRIBBLERS: Freshman forward Drew Gordon played a total of 10 minutes, eight in the first half. Gordon was questionable heading into the game due to back spasms. … Redshirt junior guard Michael Roll was four-of-six from beyond the arc, totaling 15 points. … Former guard and current NBA rookie Russell Westbrook was in attendance along with Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Kevin Durant. Both players are in town to participate in the NBA All-Star Game festivities, which will be held at U.S. Airways Center in nearby Phoenix.