No. 2 Duke wasn’t at its best. But was still good enough to beat Georgia Tech, 69-57

A holiday break extended due to a COVID-19 outbreak meant No. 2 Duke hadn’t played a game, and had hardly practiced, for 14 days prior to meeting Georgia Tech Tuesday night.

The resulting performance was an ACC basketball game in name only as the Yellow Jackets shot poorly and the Blue Devils occasionally found stretches of solid basketball.

Still, despite not being at its best, Duke built a double-digit first half lead and never trailed after the game’s early minutes while beating Georgia Tech 69-57 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Freshman forward Paolo Banchero scored 17 points to pace Duke (12-1, 2-0 ACC). He also grabbed 11 rebounds. Duke sophomore center Mark Williams also produced a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Out of sync after so little on-court work lately, the Blue Devils shot a season-worst 37.3% from the field. It’s only the second game this season Duke shot below 40% with the other being a 38.5% shooting night while losing 71-66 at Ohio State.

Duke entered the game leading the ACC in field goal shooting at 49.4 percent.

Georgia Tech (6-,7 0-3) finished the game shooting 32.8%, hitting 21 of 64 field goals. The Yellow Jackets hit only 6 of 20 3-pointers. Michael Devoe, who entered the game leading the ACC in scoring at 21.2 points per game, scored 21 points but did so on 8 of 19 shooting.

Following a first half of poor shooting, Duke took a 35-23 halftime lead. Georgia Tech shot 25% (8 of 32) over the first 20 minutes, while Duke hit only 9 of 19 shots (31%).

But even while missing shots, the Blue Devils stayed aggressive on offense which led to Georgia Tech fouls. Duke was in the bonus for the final 13 minutes of the half, making 14 of 19 free throws to boost its lead.

Georgia Tech climbed back to trail 40-34 with 14:14 to play. But an 8-2 Duke run, capped by a Wendell Moore 3-pointer with 10:31 to play, restored Duke’s 12-point lead at 48-36.

Williams’ rebound dunk off Moore’s missed layup with 8:25 left gave Duke a 53-38 lead.

But Devoe, who scored 16 points over the game’s final 12 minutes, brought the Yellow Jackets back again. His 3-pointer with 4:09 left cut Duke’s lead to 56-50 and completed a 12-1 Georgia Tech run.

But Trevor Keels answered for Duke at 3:48 with a layup off a pass from Banchero. That was Duke’s first basket in six minutes.

Devoe’s driving shot with 3:17 to play left Duke up 58-52. But AJ Griffin’s soaring slam dunk off a drive down the lane put Duke up 60-52 with 2:58 remaining. After a Georgia Tech turnover, Keels drilled a 3-pointer giving Duke a 63-52 lead with 2:10 left.

Banchero’s free throws with 1:34 left put Duke ahead 65-52.

Griffin scored 12 points for Duke while Keels added 10.

Duke staff still not full strength

Duke played its fifth consecutive game with one member of its staff missing from the bench.

Health and safety protocols due to COVID-19 kept director of player development Amile Jefferson away from Cameron and the Blue Devils on Tuesday night.

The last time Duke had Jefferson, plus head coach Mike Krzyzewski and assistant coaches Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Chris Carrawell together for a game was Nov. 30 when the Blue Devils lost 71-66 at Ohio State.

Two days later, Carrawell had knee replacement surgery that caused him to miss three games. Smith entered quarantine on Dec. 17, causing Duke to be without both he and Carrawell when it beat Elon 87-56 on Dec. 18.

With Smith still out, Carrawell returned for Duke’s 76-65 win over Virginia Tech on Dec. 22.

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