Mike Krzyzewski was hoarse after Duke’s 72-65 win over Louisville Monday night
It was that kind of game, tough, physical, back-and-forth. A February ACC game between two heavyweights.
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Louisville is deeper than Duke and they’re a pretty physical bunch. When they overcame a 41-26 Duke lead to go on top with about six minutes left, a beat-up Duke team playing its second game in three days could have folded its tent.
They didn’t. Brandon Ingram took over the game on both ends, Marshall Plumlee made several huge plays and Duke did what it needed down the stretch. Ingram and Plumlee played 40 and 35 minutes respectively but somehow found a way to keep on ticking.
"I’m really proud of our effort," Plumlee said. "That’s what coach is most proud of us for. Teams make runs and it’s are you going to splinter or come together. Tonight we came together."
Like the NC State game last Saturday, Duke led most of the way, 35 minutes’ worth of lead, with three minutes tied. The visitors led only 2:01 and never by more than the two-pointer they scored to open the game.
But it was a one-possession game for over five tense, agonizing late-game minutes until some big defensive stops and clutch foul shooting put it away.
Duke responded to that 2-0 deficit with an 11-0 run, Grayson Allen with five of those points.
Louisville crept back to 13-10. Duke finished the half with a 14-6 run, holding Louisville scoreless for three minutes.
It was 35-24 at intermission.
Grayson Allen had 16 in the opening stanza and hit a 3 to open the second half. Then he spent the rest of the game getting knocked down and not going to the line.
Truth be told, a lot of people got knocked down. Remember those closely-called games early in the season and the promises that this was the new normal? Well, tonight’s crew didn’t get the memo. No blood, no foul.
Brandon Ingram followed Allen’s 3 with one of his own and Duke was up 41-26, a minute into the second half.
But Duke went cold, missing seven of its next eight field goals, while turning it over four times. On the other end of the court, Louisville kept getting to the rim and crashing the boards. A Trey Lewis lay-up cut the Duke lead to 44-43, with 12:30 left, an eternity for a depth-challenged Duke team.
Ingram only had seven points up to that point. But he stopped the bleeding with a short jumper, making it 46-43 and setting the stage for his late-game heroics.
The basketball gods blinked Duke’s way a few minutes later, when Luke Kennard somehow bounced in a layup of his arm, putting Duke up 52-47.
"I was driving and kind of got hit and the ball, I guess I just through my arms up and I guess I gave the ball a little momentum," Kennard said. " I turned around and I saw it went in. I didn’t even see it go in. I don’t know what happened."
Shortly afterwards, Quentin Snider took over for the Cardinals. In a span of 1:55, Snider hit a 3-pointer and twice converted strong drives into three-point plays. The last of that flurry put Louisville up 58-57, its only second-half lead.
At that point Duke basically went into a get-the-ball-to-Brandon-Ingram offense and the freshman showed why he’s in the running for top pick in the 2016 NBA draft.
Over the final 6:38 Ingram scored seven points, grabbed five rebounds and consistently broke down the Louisville zone.
"Urgency" was the word Ingram kept using after the game. " I felt like I had a good matchup. We learned a lot about how to attack a zone in the Syracuse game. We showed growth today."
Krzyzewski wryly noted that Ingram is "pretty good. He’s not bad. His defensive rebounding the last couple of games, well, when he defensive rebounds, it’s huge. . . . We almost went to him exclusively there in the last few minutes because we felt with the ball screen, either he could make a play shooting or he could make a play passing."
But it was Plumlee who made the game’s biggest play. Allen missed a 3 with the game tied at 60. Plumlee grabbed the rebound and drew a foul.
It was still one-and-one, Plumlee is shooting 59 percent from the line this season and Duke had missed three of six foul shots in the previous seven minutes.
Plumlee knocked them both down, giving the Blue Devils a lead they never relinquished.
"I looked at the scoreboard and that’s what you dream of every time you visualize taking a free throw, as a kid, in practice, the game tied, showtime." Plumlee said. "I couldn’t be more excited to be in that situation."
Plumlee then got a big defensive rebound in traffic, Ingram made four foul shots and Duke went up 66-61. Matt Jones added two more foul shots and Derryck Thornton made an up-and-under as the shot clock expired.
That made it 70-62, with 33 seconds left. But Lewis hit a 3 and Thornton missed twice from the line, ending a streak of eight straight made by the Blue Devils.
But Damion Lee missed a 3—Louisville’s leading scorer, he went 3-15 from the field--and Kennard closed out the scoring with two from the line.
Ingram ended the game with 20 points—he had four at the half—10 rebounds, 4 assists and a block.
The win is Duke’s third straight, with Virginia coming to town, mercifully not until Saturday, giving Duke some badly needed rest and recuperation time.
"Somehow, our group just showed incredible toughness while they were tired and won," Krzyzewski said. " No Xs and Os. A couple [of] weeks ago ... I think we lose that game by 15 points. . . . They earned it."
NOTES
Allen ended with 19 points and a flagrant foul, called when he was on his back. Something about a trip.
Kennard added 11, while Plumlee had a 10-point, eight-rebound, one-block, two-steals stat line.
Donovan Mitchell led Louisville off the bench, with 17 points. Snider ended with 12 points.
Krzyzewski gave Jones credit for a solid defensive job on Lee but also noted that Lee likely missed some shots he usually makes. Lee missed Louisville’s last game with an injury.
Duke outrebounded Louisville 33-32, while committing 13 turnovers, solid stats against a team that relies on rebounds and its press to generate much of its offense.
The win puts Duke at 18-6 (7-4 ACC), while dropping Louisville to 19-5 and 8-3. A resume-burnishing win to be sure.
This was Louisville’s first trip to Cameron since they beat Krzyzewski’s third Duke team 91-76. It was Rick Pitino’s first game at Cameron.
Duke is now 7-4 against Louisville.
Krzyzewski addressed Amile Jefferson’s injury. :He just hasn’t got past the pain. There’s still pain there. There’s no timeline."
- Ingram, Allen Lead Duke to 72-65 Win Over Louisville
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- Notes
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- Duke men's basketball closes out No. 13 Louisville for first win against ranked opponent
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