LOS ANGELES — Donovan Dent was a bystander to his worst nightmare.

His dreams of a glorious homecoming slipped before his eyes. His past brilliance, forgotten, as he and the UCLA men’s basketball team fell out of the national conversation.

“Can’t stand around when your team needs you,” Bruins head coach Mick Cronin said Tuesday of Dent’s disappointing performances. “Who sits there and lets their career end?”

When Dent entered the transfer portal after his junior year at New Mexico, UCLA pursued him with the possibility that it could have the best player on any given night, against any Big Ten opponent. For the first half of the Bruins’ season, he had failed to fulfill that proposition.

But on Tuesday night, against No. 4 Purdue, in a game with those exact stakes, Dent stared the Boilermakers in the chest, reminding the nation of who he can be and why the Bruins brought him home.

He delivered his best overall performance in blue and gold, leading UCLA to a 69-67 victory. He came through in the clutch moments when the Bruins (13-6 overall, 5-3 Big Ten) desperately needed it. He hit a 3-pointer and dished a pass to Tyler Bilodeau for the game-winning 3 with 6.6 seconds left to help UCLA erase a six-point deficit in the final two minutes.

He took on Braden Smith, the Boilermakers star, who many believed Dent could challenge for the Bob Cousy Award, and outplayed him. He scored 23 points, dished a season-high 13 assists, blocked three shots and was the primary defender holding Smith to 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field.

Bilodeau finished with 14 points, including that decisive 3-pointer. Eric Dailey Jr. had 12, Trent Perry added 11 points, and the duo connected for a fast-break layup that helped UCLA’s last-minute surge.

None of it, however, could have happened had Dent not worn his struggles on his chest and listened to his coach’s direct message.

“He challenged me, personally, mentally, every way possible,” Dent said of Cronin.

In the locker room following UCLA’s 86-74 loss to Ohio State on Saturday, Cronin singled out Dent in front of his teammates. He continued those tests throughout the Bruins’ practices leading up to Tuesday’s game. He harped on Dent’s lack of resolve, confidence and grit.

In response to Cronin’s brash motivation, Dent discovered those traits and unleashed them against the Boilermakers (17-2, 7-1).

“Give him the credit,” Cronin said. “We don’t win if he don’t show up tonight. He was out there fighting, scrapping, playing with his heart. Not watching. Giving everything for his team.”

He showed patience to dissect Purdue’s hard-hedging ball-screen coverage. He played with poise, often navigating end of shot-clock situations.

Dent drove past Purdue center Oscar Cluff for a right-handed layup and beat guard Fletcher Loyer for a floater to start the second half.

When Purdue defenders stepped up on his drives, he coolly found his teammates. He set up Perry for a corner 3-pointer and read a Spain pick-and-roll, finding Bilodeau on the left wing. He dropped a pocket pass to Xavier Booker, and another to Dailey for a dunk.

Ultimately, his brilliance was celebrated by the students, who rushed the court after Purdue sophomore C.J. Cox missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer as time expired.

Earlier in the game, that joy seemed fleeting.

Similar to their losses against Wisconsin and Iowa, the Bruins faced a double-digit deficit in the first half. They valiantly surged back in both those games, but fell short. On Tuesday, their fight felt different.

With 7:24 left in the first half, and Purdue holding a 27-15 advantage after a 13-3 run, UCLA called a timeout to stop the bleeding.

“We told each other, ‘We’re going to make shots. We’re going to get back in it, but we got to get stops,’” Bilodeau said. “And we did that.”

“Our effort and attitude tonight was way different,” Dailey added.

Out of the timeout, the Bruins responded with seven quick points, restoring their footing in the contest.

Eric Freeny blocked Smith, Bilodeau grabbed the loose ball and threw an outlet to Dailey for a thunderous dunk that sent Pauley Pavilion into a frenzy. Dent drove for a layup, deflected a pass from Loyer, sparking a 1-on-3 fast-break he finished himself with some extra English.

After another easy basket from Dailey, Dent sized up Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, stepped-back for a jumper, and benefitted from a shooter’s bounce. Once the shot dropped, he turned to the crowd and bellowed, “Come On,” bounding into the locker room to the loudest cheers Pauley Pavilion had roared this season.

In that moment, Dent let loose a fire that he’d kept hidden this season. He carried it into the second half, passing it along to his teammates, as the Bruins matched Purdue’s final counterpunch.

Smith dropped a pass to Cluff for an easy finish. He spun and faded for a tough jump shot in Perry’s face. He feasted on a mismatch against Booker for a pull-up 3-pointer to give Purdye a six-point lead with 1:56 remaining.

But the Bruins had one run left. Dent buried a 3-point shot. Perry found Dailey for a streaking layup. And Bilodeau’s attempt scratched nylon. His clutch 3-pointer was a result of calm footwork and a shot, the senior said, that he has repped infinitely. Not to mention the perfect setup from Dent.

“I would have been pleased if Tyler had missed the shot and we’d have lost,” Cronin said. “I just want us to fight.”

After falling short against No. 1 Arizona and No. 8 Gonzaga, and losing to another handful of solid opponents, UCLA stamped its resume with this victory.

The Bruins ran out of gas in each of those defeats. There was a brief moment Tuesday when it seemed they would succumb to that same fate. Then the-supposed hometown hero made his first appearance.

“That’s why they recruited me here,” Dent said. “That’s how I should be playing. I’ve been in a slump for a while. Coach Cronin challenged me so bad this week. This was what I needed.”

He’s still searching for his cape. He needed the nation’s fourth-ranked team to enter his lair, and his aspirations to dwindle, to start finding it. But he believes he’ll rediscover it, and that this performance wasn’t an anomaly.

“We know how good of a team we have,” Dent said. “I think we could build off this and have a big run here.”