Paolo Banchero shook off early foul trouble to score 19 points and No. 9 Duke broke a late-game tie to beat Clemson 71-69 on Tuesday night in Durham, N.C.
Wendell Moore Jr. added 13 points, reserve Joey Baker posted 11 points and Mark Williams had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (16-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Duke, which earned its fourth victory in five games overall, has won 20 consecutive home games against Clemson.
PJ Hall led Clemson with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Hunter Tyson had 13 points and Chase Hunter supplied 12 points. Hall has produced a double-figure point total in 19 consecutive games.
The Tigers (11-9, 3-6) have lost four of their past five games.
Seven consecutive Duke opponents had failed to shoot better than 30 percent from 3-point range, but Clemson hit 11-for-26 (42.3 percent). Duke drained 10 of 20 shots from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Blue Devils went up 55-48, with Moore scoring eight straight Duke points in less than a two-minute span.
Clemson scored eight points in a row for a 61-60 edge before the teams traded baskets and it became 65-65 after a jumper by Duke’s Jeremy Roach.
Baker and Banchero hit shots for the Blue Devils as Clemson missed three straight field-goal attempts. Tyson’s dunk at the 38-second mark cut the deficit to two.
Banchero scored again in the lane with 10 seconds to go before a David Collins bucket for Clemson in the waning seconds.
The score was tied at 36-36 at halftime with Hall’s nine points boosting Clemson and Baker’s nine points lifting Duke. Both teams made six 3-pointers in the first half, with Duke hitting only five of 14 attempts from inside the arc.
Banchero picked up two fouls in the game’s first five minutes, so that limited some of his playing time.
Duke played its second full game in a row without starting guard Trevor Keels, who sustained a leg injury last week at Florida State. Roach supplied eight points and nine assists to help beat Clemson.
The teams will play a rematch on Feb. 10 at Clemson in a game postponed from Dec. 29.
–Field Level Media
