In Duke's ACC opener after a lengthy holiday break, the Blue Devils came out of the gates slow against Clemson at Cameron Indoor Stadium but went on a 7-0 run late in the half to take a 40-33 lead into the locker room thanks to a spark off the bench from juniors Jack White and Marques Bolden.
Player of the half: Zion Williamson
Williamson started the scoring for Duke with a putback slam to clean up a miss by Cam Reddish, and he added another second-chance bucket after Tre Jones missed a 3-pointer soon after. Clemson struggled to contain the 285-pound freshman as he repeatedly got into the paint and attacked the glass, finishing the half with 11 points and six rebounds.
New year, same 3-point struggles
Whether it was due to rust after a 16-day break or because this Duke team just isn't very good at perimeter shooting, the Blue Devils missed their first four attempts from deep and finished the half 3-of-11. Reddish didn't even hit the rim on a 3-pointer from the wing on Duke's first possession, and classmates Williamson and Tre Jones didn't come much closer until White hit one six minutes into the game. White made all three of Duke's triples in the half.
More woes for Reddish
Reddish has been the slowest of Duke's four freshman starters to adjust to the college game, and that didn't change Saturday to open ACC play. The 6-foot-8 forward went scoreless in the first half, missing all three of his shots from the field, turning it over five times and getting whistled for three fouls.
Pressure still persistent
The Blue Devils can attribute their lead in part to their opportunistic man-to-man defense which continued to rack up steals before the break. Duke took the ball away from Clemson's veteran squad 11 times, helping the Blue Devils get out in transition and score 12 points off turnovers.
Battling in the paint
Duke has struggled to keep Tiger big man Elijah Thomas in check, as the senior big man has 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting, but Bolden has come off the bench to hold his own in the paint with seven points. The Blue Devils are also winning the rebounding battle 23-15, resulting in several second-chance opportunities.
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