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In one of the most impressive performances by the UCLA basketball team this season, an opposing player still showed them up. Oregon forward Luke Jackson came off the bench to lead his team to a 96-91 overtime victory, and he was not even supposed to play.

Last week against Washington, Jackson severely lacerated his right ring finger, requiring 13 stitches and creating speculation that he would not play against the Bruins. But he did, and he put on the clinic.

“I didn’t feel my hand in the second half,” he said following the game. “My hand is still throbbing.”

In 35 minutes, Jackson scored a game-high 27 points on 9-14 shooting.

As a usual starter, he averages 16 points per game and leads the Pac-10 in steals with 2.24 a game.

But this rare appearance off the bench did not shock his teammates. They were reassured that he would be fine.

“His injury has strengthened us as a basketball team,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said.

“It shows a lot of heart for Jackson to come in and get 27 points,” added Ducks forward Ian Crosswhite. “We made mistakes, but we got it done down the stretch.”

With the victory sealed, Jackson iced his hand and asked for Advil. He was content because he knew exactly what he was doing.

UCLA controlled the inside game throughout the night behind freshmen Ryan Hollins and Michael Fey. Oregon had to shoot from the outside, but the team was hot, hitting 52 percent overall, including 13 three-pointers. Two of them were credited to Jackson.

“I got out there and got open looks and got aggressive,” he said. “I didn’t care about hurting.”

Jackson had one turnover and played well defensively. Yet, he didn’t want to take credit away from UCLA.

“They started collapsing us so much and crumbling our half-court game,” he said. “Our big guys found us open, but UCLA has it within them to play well. Give credit to them too.”