Duke crushes second straight ACC opponent on the way

Duke used an 18-2 run in the middle of the first half to break open a close game and sail to an 84-60 victory over Wake Forest on Wednesday night. The win moves Duke back over .500 to 9-8 overall, 7-6 ACC and completes a two-game season over the Deacons.

A lot of things went right for the Blue Devils. Matt Hurt continues his warm hand and hits 8 of 9 from the field, 3 of 4 from outside the arc. Hurt led everyone by 22 points. Over the past two games, Hurt has made 9 of 11 from outside the arc, something that does not exist in the skill series of most 6-9 players.

“It’s a lot about my teammates and my coaches,” Hurt said. “They put me in a great spot to shoot and get my shots. They do most of the work. ”

“I’ve never played with a goal scorer like that before,” DJ Steward said. “He really does not miss a lot of crazy shots.”

Hurt was certainly the beneficiary of an efficient and energetic offense. The Blue Devils had 17 assistants at just six turnovers, while shooting 54 percent off the field and 44 percent on three.

“Just trust,” Hurt said. ‘I think everyone goes to the gym, and gets extra shots. . Everyone on this team is unselfish. Early in the season we were prone to turnover and the last few weeks we have been counting on not turning the ball around because if we do we are going to be in a good position to win a match. ”

But Duke did not just win the game offensively. Wake Forest entered the game on a hot streak from outside the arc. They hit 13 tries against Florida State a few days ago and a comparative performance was the best chance to beat the Blue Devils.

“That was our focus to get in,” Steward said. ‘We know they have very good shooters, [Daivien] Williamson,]Jonah]Antonio, en [Carter] Whitt, they’ll finally make shots and we’ll just finish it off nicely. ”

Wake scored only 7 of 24 3-points. Antonio was 7 of 8 against Florida State, 1 for 3 against Duke. Whitt was 1 for 4, Ian Dubose 1 for 5.

“We changed our ball guard defense a week ago to better fit this team,” Mike Krzyzewski said, “and our kids did really well.”

Duke never lagged behind, but the game was tied 11-11 after Whitt was the only three-point player. Then Duke blew it open and kept Wake Forest in a single Dubose lineup over a team of 6:34. Wake missed four three-pointers and turned it around three times in this piece.

On the other side of the floor, Duke got a big lift off the bench from Jaemyn Brakefield, Jordan Goldwire and Joey Baker, the latter of whom overcame a nasty fall in the first half to hit 4 of 6 from outside the arc.

“Everyone who played really helped us,” Krzyzewski said. Jaemyn had that explosion. Actually, I thought he delivered a few shots he had to take. . . . Goldwire was an important man to us. . . four aid and one turnover, its aid-to-turnover ratio is outstanding. Getting him off the bench like that was a plus for us. ‘

Duke led 45-26 at halftime. Wake lost head coach Steve Forbes to a double technical foul, but Duke was 36-22 ahead when Forbes left.

Hurt scored seven quick points at the start of the second half, which brought the thoughts of a comeback to a halt. The lead in the second half never dropped below 15 points.

Krzyzewski said he thinks his team is doing something good.

“After all the very difficult, imminent losses, for these children to have this wonderful attitude, this work ethic, they say something about them, and we just have to keep it going.”

NOTES

Steward had perhaps his best game in a Duke uniform, 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, no turnovers, 7 or 12 off the field and shutdown defense.

Baker (12) and Wendell Moore (11) joined Hurt and Steward in double figures, while Brakefield filled the state sheet with 7 points. 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a block. Classmate Mark Williams had another solid performance, again an appetizer, 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. So, even if Jalen Johnson is gone, Duke still gets production from his freshmen.

Speaking of Johnson, Hurt, Steward and Krzyzewski all had positive things to say about the opt-out.

“He’s a brother to these guys,” Krzyzewski said, adding: “I’m a coach because of players. These children must have the choice to do what they want. We are going to give them our guidance and talk to them about it. I’m 100 percent behind him. ”

Ody Oguma led Wake Forest with 14 points, while Williamson added 12 and Dubose 10.

Duke outscored Wake 37-28 and shot the Deacons off the field 39%.

Virginia next Saturday night in Cameron, a chance for the signature that could set Duke’s NCAA hopes burning. If it is played. Fingers crossed and masks on.