NEW YORK—After getting to the ACC championship with two dramatic comebacks from double-digit deficits in the second half, Duke found itself in an unfamiliar position for much of the first half Saturday—in the lead.
The fifth-seeded Blue Devils lead No. 3 seed Notre Dame 38-34 at the Barclays Center, with Luke Kennard, Grayson Allen and Jayson Tatum combining for 22 points to lead a balanced attack. Duke is controlling the paint for the first time in the tournament with 18 paint points, and Amile Jefferson and Harry Giles have both been effective in the post.
But Fighting Irish star Bonzie Colson has kept his team in it with 15 points, cutting Duke's lead to two with six seconds left in the period before an Allen buzzer-beating layup made it a four-point game again.
Although the Blue Devils have started out cold from the perimeter, shooting just 3-of-10 from beyond the arc, they were killing Notre Dame on the glass in the opening minutes, just like they did in the regular season. Tatum made the play of the half with a one-handed putback dunk off a missed triple by Kennard, two of Duke's seven second-chance points in the half.
But the Fighting Irish have stayed within striking distance thanks to their perimeter shooting. They have fired away early and often from deep, with four different players making at least one triple.
The Blue Devils started the game hot, jumping out to an 8-2 lead when Jefferson converted in the paint on back-to-back possessions, and a four-point play from Kennard in the corner mirroring the shot that sparked Friday's comeback against North Carolina put Duke up by eight.
Then, it was Harry Giles' time to shine again.
On back-to-back possessions, he out-jumped the Notre Dame frontcourt for an offensive rebound and putback off the glass, then caught a lob from Grayson Allen for an alley-oop for the second night in a row.
Duke got out to its biggest lead of the half at nine points when Allen converted a 3-point play in the lane and again after a 3-pointer from Kennard made it 31-22, but the Fighting Irish settled down in the closing minutes.
Colson, no stranger to big games against the Blue Devils in the ACC tournament, leads all scorers with his 15 points, and four Notre Dame players have at least five. The junior also helped the Fighting Irish even up the rebounding battle toward the end of the half.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- Duke is not in much foul trouble at halftime for the first time this week. Only Frank Jackson and Jefferson have been whistled for two, and the Blue Devils only have six as a team.
- Notre Dame tried to contain Duke with a zone on defense early in the half and forced the Blue Devils into a lot of misses from long range, but often could not find men to box out in the zone.
- Allen is playing well again with eight points and three assists, letting head coach Mike Krzyzewski experiment with different lineup combinations. The junior had a late 3-pointer and the buzzer-beater to keep his team in front.
- Kennard's nine points are the most points he has scored in the first half all tournament, though he averaged 21.3 points in the first three games.
- The roles seem to be reversed Saturday. It is Duke trying to hold on to a slim lead as the Fighting Irish keep drawing closer and closer.
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