Duke ended a two-game losing streak with a not-as-close-as-the-score-suggests 75-70 win over Florida State. Duke finishes its 2016-’17 home season with a 14-1 home mark and moves to 11-6 in the ACC, 23-7 overall.
FSU has the exact same record.
Duke broke open a close game midway through the first half and withstood a late Seminoles rally that cut what had been a 19-point Duke lead to eight with just over six minutes remaining. But Duke blunted the rally and squeezed out the win.
The game was Senior Day for Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones and the last home game for who-knows-who-else. Jefferson played through his perennially sore foot for his 7th double-double of the season, 14 points and 11 rebounds, along with four blocks and a steal.
It was Jefferson’s first double-double since December.
“My mark has been a player who hustles, who works hard, who does the dirty work,” Jefferson said. “Fighting, putting my heart out on the floor at Cameron one last time was incredible. It was about not pacing. That’s what I’ve been doing since I’ve been injured. I’ve been playing but I’ve been playing not to get hurt, thinking about my foot, thinking about the pain. Tonight I was going to go out and give it all I’ve got. Once I did that, I forgot about the pain.”
Jones struggled with his shot but contributed three rebounds, a steal and typically tough defense.
Florida State only led twice early, 5-4 and 8-6. Two Luke Kennard foul shots gave Duke a 14-12 lead and a 10-2 run gave Duke some separation, at 23-14. Duke extended the lead to 34-19 but a bad final minute allowed the visitors to cut it to 34-23 at the half.
FSU shot 36 percent in the first half and turned it over 10 times.
Mike Krzyzewski said Duke perfectly executed its defensive game plan in the first half.
“We were terrific (in the first half). We had our hands on balls. [Xavier] Rathan-Mayes was not able to drive. Tonight he had one assist. That was the key to the game. Usually, he sets the table. Our goal was to keep him out of the paint, to keep it congested.”
Frank Jackson exploded after intermission, 13 points in the first 4:26 and suddenly Duke was up 49-30.
“Jackson is an attacker,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s unbelievably competitive and tough.”
“Frank brings an energy no one else can bring,” Luke Kennard added. “He’s worked really hard and it shows.”
But Florida State is a tough team to put away. They’re physical, athletic and deep; twelve ‘Noles played at least six minutes.
In other words, they grind you down. Rathan-Mayes started beating Duke down the court and finishing at the rim.
“We were doing that [defending] pretty well until we got worn out and they pushed it down our throats,” Krzyzewski said. ”We got tired. They wear you out. But we able to play well enough and handle that in order to win.”
Luke Kennard conceded the point. To a point.
“They’re a quick team and an athletic team. There was a period in the second half when we let fatigue kind of take over. But we were the tougher team tonight, the entire game. They have a deep team and it can get tough. You can get tired when they keep sending in fresh guys. But we stayed together, stayed connected, stayed tough.”
Jackson cooled off but Kennard hit some key buckets, a 3-pointer with six minutes left after FSU had cut the score to 64-56 the biggest.
And then there was Jayson Tatum.
“We went to Jayson on some iso’s late and he came through,” Krzyzewski said. “You don’t call plays, he makes plays.”
Tatum says he’s ready for that responsibility.
“It gives me confidence that the coaches and my teammates have confidence in me in these big games to score and make plays and help us win.”
Tatum scored 15 points, with nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.
Krzyzewski says Tatum has become the player he would have been had he been healthy all season.
Krzyzewski pointed out another key to the win, not turning the ball over against the FSU press.
Kennard credited Duke’s overall toughness and Jackson’s poise for that.
Duke missed some chances to pad the margin late, Jefferson twice missing the first end of the bonus and Kennard and Jackson missing one of two. Dwayne Bacon scored five points in the final seconds for the final margin.
NOTES.
Jackson ended with a career-high 22 points. Kennard added 17, giving Duke four double-figure scorers.
Jefferson’s 14 points give him 1,010 for his Duke career.
Bacon and Rathan-Mayes led the visitors with 19 and 15 points respectively.
Grayson Allen played 16 minutes off the bench, scoring two points, Duke’s only bench points. Getting him healthy remains crucial to Duke’s March prospects.
Mike Krzyzewski vehemently denied that Duke’s two losses constituted a “slump.”
More about that depth thing. FSU’s starters played 121 minutes. Duke’s starters played 180. Duke got two points, three rebounds and one steal off its bench. FSU got 23 points and 18 rebounds off its bench.
Contrasting styles, both successful.
I’ll let Amile Jefferson have the final word.
“We didn’t play for our seniors, we played for us, we played for Duke.”
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