Tyus Jones delivers again as Duke basketball beats North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL—If Tyus Jones did not already write himself into Tobacco Road lore in the Blue Devils' comeback win Feb. 18, his performance Saturday should do the trick.

Jones became the latest Duke freshman to turn in a legendary performance against arch rival North Carolina, returning with 10:45 remaining in the game after suffering back spasms in the second half and leading his team on a late charge as No. 3 Duke upended the No. 19 Tar Heels 84-77 at the Dean E. Smith Center. The freshman finished with a career-high with 24 points and added six rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

"[Jones] dreamed of playing here in the Dean Dome, so I know he didn't want to sit this one out," senior guard Quinn Cook. "We're all playing through bumps and bruises. We just don't want to lose—that's it."

For a moment, it looked as though Duke (28-3, 15-3 in the ACC) would have to finish the game without Jones. The freshman point guard lay on the ground in pain after driving hard to the hoop and taking a hard hit under the basket.

With 13:04 remaining and the Blue Devils trailing 49-48—and with freshman forward Justise Winslow already on the bench with four fouls—Duke's attempt for a season sweep against the rival Tar Heels could not have appeared more of an uphill battle.

"I was worried. Anytime you go down hard, you want to be out there competing," Jones said. "I was very scared, but I was determined to get back in there because I wanted to help contribute and have my brothers' back."

But junior forward Amile Jefferson made a pair of big plays with Jones receiving treatment on the bench, tipping in a Grayson Allen miss and grabbing an offensive rebound on Duke's next possession. Jefferson wheeled and found sophomore guard Matt Jones, who side-stepped his defender before nailing a triple from the left corner to give the Blue Devils a 53-51 lead.

Allen added a three on Duke's next possession to cap an 8-0 run and quiet the North Carolina crowd.

"Those six points really turned the game around," Krzyzewski said. "And it came from Matt and Grayson, and they hadn't hit anything [before]. Fantastic—it's fantastic."

When Tyus Jones returned to the floor, he stroked a long 3-pointer and found his backcourt-mate, Cook, with a no-look pass in transition for another triple to give the Blue Devils a commanding 68-59 advantage with 6:19 to play.

Jones cemented the Blue Devil victory with a steal in the final minute after the Tar Heels scrambled to get back within five points. The Apple Valley, Minn., native finished a perfect 12-for-12 from the free-throw line, including six in the game's final three minutes.

The Blue Devils were lucky to find themselves trailing 33-31 at halftime after suffering a scoring drought that lasted 6:57 late in the first half. Duke failed to hit a field goal for nearly 10 minutes before Cook stroked a 3-pointer from the right corner with 2:57 remaining. The drought featured 12 consecutive missed field goals by the Blue Devils.

"We were getting some good looks. Shots weren't falling for us," Jones said. "We knew the shots would eventually fall."

North Carolina (21-10, 11-7) failed to take advantage of Duke's shooting woes. After using a 12-0 run to pad their lead to 30-24, the Tar Heels closed the first half on a 2-for-12 cold streak of their own that keep the contest close.

Periods of ice-cold shooting drew stark contrast to the game's opening minutes, when both teams seemingly could not miss. The Blue Devils hit six of their first seven attempts from the field and North Carolina matched with four of its first five. Both teams played at a torrid pace until their offensive wheels fell off.

Duke will be the No. 2 seed in next week's ACC tournament and will receive a double-bye before playing its first postseason game Thursday at 7 p.m.