TIGERTOWN THRILLER: No. 2 Duke snaps 16-game win streak on the road against Clemson in 77-71 loss

CLEMSON, S.C. — Last time Clemson and Duke took the floor, it came down to the last possession. It was no different this year. 

Viktor Lakhin made 1-of-2 from the line, and the Blue Devils had the ball, down two, with 18.9 seconds remaining. The tension was palpable in Littlejohn Coliseum as two of the ACC’s best clashed. 

Cooper Flagg — despite his late-game brilliance — slipped and traveled on an essential offensive possession. Chase Hunter knocked down two free throws and clinched a game-sealing block on Tyrese Proctor. The Blue Devils lost 77-71 to the Tigers in a classic, as head coach Jon Scheyer’s team snapped its 16-game win streak.

"The job that Coach Brownell [does], his staff and what that team is all about, it's exactly what we expected," Scheyer said. "I wish they didn't shoot as well and I mean, I think that's the difference of the game. We had a hard time getting stops."

While the home team did a good job stopping Flagg for the majority of the contest, he woke up right when his team needed him. He scored 14 points in five minutes, the biggest one being a key 3-pointer over the outstretched arms of Lakhin. The freshman phenom knocked down another silky jumper with less than a minute remaining to give Duke (20-3, 12-1 in the ACC) its first lead since early in the second half. 

For the majority of the game, it was Duke’s Proctor and Clemson’s Lakhin who made the biggest plays. Lakhin, the redshirt senior and Cincinnati transfer, was a large interior presence for the Tigers, finishing with 22 points on the evening. After he connected on a baby hook to put Clemson (19-5, 11-2) up two, Proctor hit an improbable three to snatch the lead right back. At the under-4 media timeout, Duke led 62-61. Both sides went back and forth in the final minutes of the game, scoring to set up an exciting finish in the ACC tilt. 

Proctor picked up where he left off to start the second half, scoring an 18-foot jumper and a nice slip-screen dunk to match his season-high of 20 points. The Blue Devils held a fairly comfortable lead up through the beginning of the second half, but with 13:16 remaining, Ian Schieffelin hit a 25-foot 3-pointer to tie the game. Hunter finished a layup on the next play. All of a sudden, Clemson led 51-49 as Littlejohn Coliseum reached its loudest all evening. 

Flagg missed his first five attempts of the second half, and Lakhin converted an and-one finish. To make matters worse for the visitors, that was Khaman Maluach’s third foul with 18 minutes still left to go. James picked up his third under two minutes later, and all the sudden, it was a 45-42 Duke lead with 16:06 remaining. Lakhin kept on punishing the Blue Devils inside, taking Flagg to the basket for another bucket. 

"You know, that's really the defensive rebounding. I think there was a few plays in the first half we needed to come up with ball," Scheyer said.

Clemson’s first two possessions ended in turnovers; Proctor opened the game with a pick-pocket of Hunter and followed it with a triple off a flare screen. Flagg stole the ball on the subsequent play and fed it to Sion James for a transition and-one. 

When the Tigers were able to take shots, however, they went in. Clemson made its first six field goals, all 2-pointers against a stingy Blue Devil defense. The Tigers trailed 12-10 after a tough bucket from Lakhin, but Duke responded with an 8-2 run buoyed by transition offense. Clemson had a lot of success from the midrange and short corner areas, making tough buckets against the typical analytics of today’s game. 

Back-to-back top-of-the-key triples from Knueppel extended Duke’s lead early as the team made its first three deep shots. He kept being aggressive offensively, scoring 14 points in the contest. However, the visiting offense could not keep up with the Tigers, who are now one game back of Duke in the ACC standings. 

The Blue Devils will look for a bounce-back win Wednesday night at home against Cal.

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