In the middle of its conference schedule, Duke had dropped three of four, including a loss to N.C. State at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first time in 22 years.
That same Blue Devil team has now ripped off seven straight close wins, bookended by victories against Wake Forest.
Duke looked visibly rattled in tight situations barely three weeks ago but now has found itself on the right end of big shots, big stops and big free-throws. Every game the Blue Devils have played during the winning streak has been within one possession at some point with less than seven minutes left, but Duke has found different ways to come out on top each time.
“We click, we stay connected, we stay together and we’ve learned a lot,” sophomore guard Luke Kennard said. “If we were [up one with a minute to play] three weeks ago, last time we played them even, we might have let them take the game away, but we stayed together, we locked in, we showed some leadership and we acted like an older team today.”
Since the home loss to the Wolfpack in which the Blue Devils gave away a nine-point lead in the closing minutes, Duke has tightened up on both sides of the ball when it has needed to, a testament to how a team can change its identity on a game-by-game basis.
Against the Demon Deacons on the road and Clemson, the Blue Devils rode the hot hand of Luke Kennard in late-game situations. Against North Carolina, Virginia and Notre Dame, Duke rode strong defense and clutch shooting from Grayson Allen and Jayson Tatum to down ranked ACC opponents. Allen also found a rhythm late in a slow-paced game against Pittsburgh with 18 points in the last eight minutes to help the Blue Devils pull away down the stretch.
But after all the individual heroics of the last three weeks, Duke finally needed all hands on deck on offense when it could not find ways to stop the Demon Deacons inside, as sophomore John Collins scored at will against smaller defenders and finished with 31 points and 15 rebounds.
The Blue Devils delivered, with six players in double figures providing just enough offense to prevail in a 99-94 shootout.
“All of this stuff before about, ‘We’re not together,’ or whatever, that’s a bunch of baloney,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “These kids have had good attitudes, they just haven’t practiced together. They have been disjointed.”
Duke shot 13-of-27 from beyond the arc, relying on perimeter contributions from every guard on its roster. But unlike their past few games, the Blue Devils also got life from their post players with Amile Jefferson, Marques Bolden and Harry Giles combining for 24 points and eight boards.
With the Demon Deacons forced to divert some of their attention to the low block, Duke took advantage by moving the ball well and spacing the floor well enough to get good looks all over the floor. That collective chemistry and well-rounded offense, which finished with 19 assists on 36 made field goals, helped the Blue Devils to their highest scoring output since Jan. 4.
Better yet, the continued development of the Duke freshmen has slowly given the team comfort winning tight games, even if it has taken longer for them to jell than many expected.
“We’re continuing to get better and that’s our mentality every single day,” Kennard said. “We’re starting to get healthy, we have everybody back and it’s time to take this to the next level.”
After Bolden provided effective minutes in the first half, freshman guard Frank Jackson replaced Allen for several minutes after the junior aggravated his toe injury, sparking the Blue Devils to a 14-3 run that gave them a lead they would not relinquish. Jackson, whose 12 points were the most he has scored since Jan. 7, combined with Bolden and Giles to shoot 7-of-10 from the field.
With the one-and-done Blue Devils from the 2015 national championship team—Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones—in attendance Saturday afternoon, the development between Jackson’s class and the one that cut the nets in Indianapolis lies in sharp contrast.
But this team has been tested by injuries and disrupted continuity in more ways already than that 2015 team ever was, and now Duke’s 2017 unit looks ready to reap the benefits of those challenges.
“[Winning close games] helps us grow up,” Jefferson said. “With [Jahlil] being here, we had some similar things happen in 2015, where we were able to win games in a row and really grow from it and become a team. That’s what we’re doing right now. It’s really similar. When you draw that line in the sand, that’s what you have to do, and that’s what we’re doing right now as a team.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.