Midway through the second half against Clemson Saturday, the Blue Devils were clinging to a one-point lead and seemed to be on the verge of becoming the fourth top-10 team of the day to fall.
But unlike North Carolina, UCLA and Texas A&M, Duke exploded on a 20-5 run, propelling the team to a 93-80 victory over the then-24th-ranked Tigers in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"The key to that stretch was to continue attacking," guard Jon Scheyer said. "We huddled up and we said, 'Keep attacking, keep attacking, we really can blow it open.' We knew if we kind of stayed back a little bit, they could really cut the game down, so for us, we wanted to keep attacking."
Greg Paulus, despite finishing with just nine points and three assists, played an important role in that crucial span. He sparked the run after being fouled from beyond the arc and sank all three free throws. The point guard later increased Duke's lead to eight on a fastbreak layup off a steal. The crowd's reaction was so deafening that it drowned out the ensuing whistle as Clemson called a full timeout. From there, the No. 4 Blue Devils (15-1, 3-0 in the ACC) never looked back.
"It was the same score that we had down in Florida State, and we kind of reacted the same way," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I thought our crowd helped us, definitely. But we turned up our defense a notch, and we had numbers."
Duke forced the Tigers (14-4, 2-2) into 21 turnovers on the night-including five by star forward James Mays-and scored 37 points off those miscues. DeMarcus Nelson and Lance Thomas led the Blue Devils with three steals each.
Thomas provided Duke with energy and a strong inside presence off the bench, tying for the team lead with five rebounds and altering several shots on the defensive end.
For most of the game, however, the Tigers dominated the glass, outrebounding the Blue Devils 20-9 in the first half and 42-26 for the game. In the latter part of the second half, Duke was able to keep Mays and forward Trevor Booker off the boards more consistently, paving the way for the Blue Devils' decisive run.
"This is a big-time win for us, especially getting outrebounded for 30 minutes like we did," Krzyzewski said.
Going into the game, Clemson was expected to give a small Blue Devil team problems, which is one of the main reasons why Duke seemed to struggle on the boards. The Tigers are the most physical team Duke has faced, sophomore guard Gerald Henderson said.
"Mays and Booker were just beasts," Henderson said. "Inside was really where we needed to battle. On our perimeter, we felt like we could lock up outside, but Mays and Booker down low-we thought that might have been their best offense at times in the first half, was offensive rebounds and scoring. Their shot chart probably looks like all buckets inside."
Duke effectively limited Mays, holding him below his season averages in points, rebounds and assists. The Blue Devils forced the 6-foot-9 forward, who was playing with a broken right hand, to use his left hand and to handle the ball on the perimeter rather than down low, a strategy that resulted in several turnovers.
With just more than five minutes remaining in the first half, Mays was handling the ball several feet behind the 3-point line. Mays was unable to heave up his one-handed attempt in time, resulting in a shot clock violation. On the ensuing possession, Henderson drove the baseline for a dunk.
As well as Duke's defense played, though, the offense was just as effective. The Blue Devils shot better than 53 percent from the field, and five players scored in double figures-highlighted by Nelson, who scored 24 on 10-of-13 shooting.
"I looked up at the end of the game and I couldn't believe he had 24 points because he didn't shoot the ball that much," Scheyer said. "That's one thing DeMarcus really does well. He's not the type of guy that's a rah-rah guy... [but] I would follow DeMarcus anywhere, and I think the rest of the guys on the team would do the same."
Whereas last year's game in Cameron came down to a Dave McClure buzzer-beater, this contest was over several minutes before the final horn. Nelson led the Blue Devils as their increased expertise in late-game scenarios- became apparent and meant Duke did not need a last-second shot to pull out the win. The team attributes that difference to its growth since last season, in addition to the incorporation of several game-ready freshmen into the rotation.
"We've been playing in top games all year," Nelson said. "We're definitely prepared for these types of games. Everyone on our team is a winner. We all make plays and we all use each other in a good way to get open shots defensively, and it really shows."
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