Watson Injures Back in Bruin Victory

The UCLA basketball team escaped an exhibition defeat but not an injury Thursday night, beating the California All-Stars, 83-73, despite a sloppy offensive performance and maybe losing starting point guard Earl Watson because of a back injury.

Watson landed hard on his tailbone with 37 seconds remaining after getting bumped while going up for a shot, and spent several moments on the court as the Pauley Pavilion crowd of 5,510 went silent. He got up and walked gingerly to the bench, then soon after to the locker room.

“I couldn’t move. I couldn’t move my legs,” Watson said after getting 19 points, five assists and four steals in the Bruins’ final tuneup before the season opener Tuesday night against Fairfield. “Very painful. A very scary moment.”

Twenty minutes after the game, though, Watson was sore but feeling better and the UCLA medical staff was saying they didn’t regard it as a serious injury. But it could be bad enough to knock him out of the opener.

That’s not the only problem the Bruins are facing. They had five more turnovers than assists against the California All-Stars--a team that includes former UCLA standout Charles O’Bannon--and shot 39% in the first half and 44.6 overall.