NEW YORK—The Blue Devils' game against Louisville was supposed to be one of the best games of the weekend, with two top-15 teams meeting in a rare conference tournament quarterfinal.
It took a few minutes to get going, but the contest is living up to its billing.
No. 5 seed Duke leads the fourth-seeded Cardinals 39-37 after a half of play at the Barclays Center, getting 12 points from Jayson Tatum and overcoming a few early turnovers to get hot late in the period. Louisville did not make a shot from the field for nearly five minutes to start the game, but has dominated the Blue Devils around the basket with 28 points in the paint.
After the Cardinals missed their first six shots from the field with and started cold from the perimeter, with first-team All-ACC guard Donovan Mitchell and Quentin Snider missing open triples, they started feeding big men Anas Mahmoud, Jaylen Johnson and Ray Spalding in the post.
Mahmoud did not start, but has scored six points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting to along with two rebounds and two assists. The 7-foot center seems to enjoy playing the Blue Devils—his best game of the season came with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the teams' first meeting.
Duke traded baskets with Louisville for a few possessions, but went scoreless for more than three minutes after a reverse layup by Grayson Allen for his first points in two games. The Cardinals went on a 10-0 run highlighted by a breakaway slam by Deng Adel, to turn a three-point deficit into a 20-13 lead. Adel leads Louisville with 10 points.
Six quick points from Frank Jackson on a 3-point play and a triple from the top of the key got the Blue Devils back into it, but Jackson picked up two quick fouls right after his run to go to the bench with three.
Without Jackson on the floor, Tatum took over, attacking bigger players at will to generate looks inside and get the Cardinals in the bonus. Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen combined for 14 points apiece for the Blue Devils, who made their last four shots of the half to build momentum in this entertaining battle. A pair of Allen free throws gave Duke the lead heading into the second half.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- Head coach Mike Krzyzewski is relying on his bench more than normal in Duke's second game is three days. Harry Giles has played nine minutes, more than the five he played Wednesday, and Allen has played 13 minutes. Both played two of their better halves of the last month.
- Duke showed signs of fatigue early on, leaving a few shots short and missing some open looks before finding its footing against Louisville's physical defense late in the period.
- The Blue Devils have a guard with three fouls in the first half for the second straight game. Jackson stepped up in place of Allen yesterday, and Allen returned the favor with a clutch triple late in the half.
- The Cardinals are getting out in transition and moving the ball a lot better than Duke. They have 10 assists and have held the Blue Devils to just 4 but still trail at the break.
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