January 17, 2004. 
Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photos | Game Log

   The key word for this game was balance.  Post & perimeter; offense and defense; pressure and poise.  Playing against a team loaded with weapons and big-game experience, Duke could not afford any early defensive slip-ups, because the Deacs can score in a lot of different ways.  Their lethal guard trio of Justin Gray, Taron Downey and fab frosh Chris Paul all attack defenses differently.  Gray is a mad bomber type who also plays ferocious defense.  Downey is a tweener who is equally at ease running the team, penetrating or shooting.  Paul is already a great leader who can penetrate, create and guard anyone.  Throw in enormous but agile center Eric Williams (who has stepped up his game to become a top-notch scorer), jumping jack wing Jamaal Levy, versatile forward Trent Strickland and tough-minded forward Vytas Danelius, and you have a seven-man rotation every bit as good as Duke's.  Furthermore, Wake has already beaten UNC on the road this year, so they certainly weren't scared of Duke despite a six-game losing streak in Cameron.  (They last time they won, the Deacs had some guy named Duncan in the post.  Whatever became of him?)

  Duke's recent success had come with some caveats.  Sure, they had beaten Texas and Michigan State, but neither team had great point guards.  How would Chris Duhon respond against a team armed with multiple outstanding ballhandlers and penetrators?  The answer from this game was: quite well, thanks.  This Duke team was built to play against any type of opponent, and as they continue to grow and gain experience together, they become more and more fluid.  This is especially true at the offensive end, as guards Dan Ewing and JJ Redick have dramatically ended their mutual slumps simultaneously.  With Duhon playing the most assured and confident ball of his career, backup Sean Dockery causing defensive nightmares, versatile wing Luol Deng playing three different positions, powerful Shelden Williams absolutely dominating the paint and skilled forward Shav Randolph proving that he can rebound & block shots, Duke was happy to match their weapons against Wake's.  There was no question that both teams could score, but the team that could play better defense would win.

  After E.Williams gave Wake a 2-0 lead, the Devils locked in on the Deacs and gave them an early gut-punch.  During the first four minutes of the game, Wake missed 8 shots in a row and committed 2 turnovers.  Meanwhile, Duke used this opportunity to stake out an early 9-2 lead, giving themselves a cushion that would remain for most of the game.  Shelden was a force on the boards right away, getting 3 quick rebounds along with a block.  He also scored over E.Williams and was fouled after a steal, hitting a couple of freebies.  Luol Deng, Duke's x-factor, score on a pass from Duhon and then hit Ewing on a cut.  The only negative was JJ Redick missing a free throw, snapping his streak at 54 in a row--a new ACC record.  He promptly hit his next five foul shots to start a new streak.

  After Wake scored to cut it to 9-4, Ewing pulled up for a three--the first of several big shots that he sank.  The two teams battled back and forth without scoring for a couple of minutes, but Dockery hit Duhon on a lob after a Wake turnover to make it 14-4 with thirteen minutes left in the half.   During that stretch, Wake missed 2 shots and turned the ball over three times.  Wake scored again after a steal, but Deng came back and stuck a three to give the Devils a surprising 17-6 lead.

  The teams went back and forth over the next few minutes, with Duke keeping the lead at about 12.   A Gray three was matched by a Redick three. 2 Danelius free throws were upped by another Redick three.  4 points by Levy were kept in check by 2 Deng free throws and a Duhon drive.  With seven minutes to go in the half, Wake simply couldn't draw any closer. Finally, Gray hit a three.   Wake turned Duke over and Paul hit a three. Shelden missed the front end of a one-and-one and Danelius hit a short jumper.  It was a game again at 27-23.  Duke went to Williams inside and he was fouled, hitting both freebies.   The Deacs got a tip-in to stay close.  Duhon hit Shelden inside for a hook shot and Duke finally got the stop they were looking for.  Redick converted after running the floor and getting fouled.

  Paul fed E.Williams inside for a too-easy dunk.  Shelden hit a free throw and Deng slithered inside for a layup after a team rebound.  That made it 36-27 with under three minutes left.  It was time for another big defensive stand and Wake was looking to toss the ball inside.  E.Williams wheeled around and got stuffed by Shelden.  Duhon got the rebound, quickly brought the ball downcourt, and then fired it to Ewing for a dagger of a three.  That forced a timeout.  After a Wake free throw, Ewing found Redick for a short jumper, but Wake hit a couple of free throws with seconds left.  Duhon missed on a drive and Deng couldn't stick it back at the buzzer.  Still, Duke led 41-30, fending off a serious late-half challenge.  The Devils shot 43% to Wake's 33%, including 5-11 from three and 10-15 from the line.  Williams had 9, Deng had 9, Ewing had 8 and Redick 11 points.  Shelden also had 6 rebounds and 5 blocks while Duhon had already racked up 10 assists.

  Ewing started off the second half with a 17' pull-up, but Wake came back strong.  They outscored Duke 12-2 over the next four minutes to make it a 45-42 game.  Duke was 1-5 from the field with 2 turnovers, while Wake was 4-7 (with 2 threes from Gray and 8 points overall) with a couple of free throws in there as well.  It's not that Duke was playing poorly during this sequence, but rather that Wake really stepped up their play.  Duke took a timeout and Ewing hit another huge three from the wing.  Dan simply hunted his shot, found a gap in the defense, and let fly.   Coach K called it the biggest shot of the game, giving Duke the opportunity to breathe again, as it were.  There was a sense that Wake had given Duke its best shot and now it was Duke's turn once again.

  Levy scored on a lob dunk on the next play, but Shelden rebounded a miss from JJ to push Duke's lead up to 6 again.  Duke forced a miss from E.Williams and outletted it immediately to Ewing.  He drove hard to the basket and he looked out of control for a minute, until it became clear that he was drawing in the defense away from Redick, who was wide open in the corner.  Dan passed it to him and JJ swished the jumper to give Duke a 53-44 lead and a lot of momentum.  Redick followed that shot with a 17' jumper to put Duke over double digits with under thirteen minutes left in the half.

  The two squads traded baskets for a few minutes, with a Downey three being matched by a Deng three, and a short Paul jumper being trumped by a Redick three.  Dockery then stripped Paul and tossed it down to Redick for a driving finish that sent the crowd into another frenzy.  Wake came up with another mini-run of 6-2 to pull within 65-55 with eight minutes left. Duke was in control but the game was by no means over, especially with fouls starting to mount.  Ewing once again hunted his shot and got a good look at a three that swished in, once again blunting Wake's progress. Shelden blocked a shot and generally made things difficult for E.Williams, who couldn't hit any short shots.  A Deng steal led to 2 Redick free throws with six minutes left.  Duke now went into its 2-3 motion in order to start milking the clock.

  Wake's next 5 points came at the foul line as Duhon scored on a drive and then dished to Shelden for a dunk as the shot clock was winding down. The Deacs got a steal to pull within 74-62, but Duhon once again drove to push the lead up a bit more.   Duke forced a turnover and Duhon hit Williams again to make the lead 16 points.  The Devils fouled out Paul a couple of possessions later and the rest came down to Duke hitting a few free throws.  When most of the starters left, it was 84-67.  Wake scored the last five points of the game to make it look more respectable, but it was over with six minutes to go.

  Duke matched effort with effort, passion with passion, and made good use of the upper hand they established early in the game.  Wake simply couldn't stop everything Duke threw at them, especially when Ewing and Redick hit so many big shots.  The Deacs had chances to get a little closer and Duke had chances to make the game a blowout a bit earlier and couldn't take advantage of them, but both squads were the epitome of "next play" and just kept on coming.  Duke used a handful of big plays to swing momentum their way in the second half, staggering Wake just enough to get them into a whole they couldn't climb out of, especially against a hungry Duke defense.  Most impressively, Duke's starting five played huge minutes just 36 hours after a game with a good opponent, and looked like they could have kept right on playing.  That's a testament to the team's fitness and conditioning, especially Duhon (who never seems to tire) and Williams (who kept up a high energy level despite playing 33 minutes). After all was said in done, however, Duke merely held serve here.   In the ACC, teams cannot afford to drop any home games and stay in the hunt for the conference title.  The Devils still have games in Chapel Hill, College Park, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Atlanta and Tallahassee to look forward to, and ultimately their performance on the road will determine their regular-season fate.

  ** Negatives:

 1. Turnovers.  The only real negative for Duke offensively were some careless cross-court passes thrown by Duhon and Dockery, who teamed for 8 turnovers.  Most teams haven't pressured the passing lanes against Duke or gone after the point guard, so this was a bit of a shock for Chris.  For the most part, he did a decent job, but Wake was able to get some easy scores from their defensive pressure.

 2. Fouls.   Mercifully, Williams stayed out of foul trouble the entire game, but Duke's backcourt piled up hacks and pushes.  Wake had abandoned trying to establish a post game, spread the court and went right at Duke. The Devils had trouble containing them at times when they did this and didn't move quickly enough to force a bad shot, and instead wound up fouling the penetrator.  Duhon fouled out late in the game, while Ewing and Redick both wound up with 4.

 3. Blocking out.  Duke gave up 20 offensive rebounds.  Granted, Wake is a team known for its rebounding, but they never managed to put a body on rangy forward Levy, who had 8 offensive boards by himself.  This means that someone was constantly out of position to block him out.

 ** Positives:

 1. Post defense.  Shelden was certainly magnificent all by himself, but Randolph excelled here and Deng also proved adept in forcing some bad shots.  Duke took away Wake's most trusted weapon, their post scoring, and forced them to rely on penetration and shooting.

 2. Balance.  As I've mentioned several times, this was the key to the game.   Four players were in double figures, scoring between 15 and 23 points.  Four players had at least 5 rebounds.  The starting five all took either 10 or 11 shots.  Duhon made sure everyone stayed involved.

 3. Getting to the foul line.  Four players had at least 4 free throw attempts, including 6 by Redick and 12 from Williams.  Shelden did miss 6 of his attempts, however.

 Player-by-Player:

 ** Williams:  A magnificent performance from a player who has struggled with foul problems and faced a top-notch foe in Eric Williams.  Shelden held him to 6 points on 3-10 shooting and 5 rebounds, while he had 16 points, 14 rebounds and 8 blocks.  The Landlord's utter domination of the paint took away Wake's preferred options and forced them to find other ways to score.  Shelden scored inside 5 times and also went to the line 12 times.  Because of his ability to score, it was his relocation pass to Ewing when the score was 45-42 that was such a crucial play.  Wake had to respect him and gave Ewing just enough daylight to get a good shot after Shelden passed it back out to him.  This game was a breakthrough in many ways; it was one of the few times that Shelden played over 30 minutes and was effective throughout.  He had career highs in blocks and rebounds. Even without scoring, the simple fact that he shut down Eric Williams made this a good night for Shelden.  As long as he avoids silly early fouls and communicates with his frontcourt partners, he can do this for the rest of the year.

 ** Deng:   With all of the excitment that his teammates brought to this game, one could almost overlook everything that Luol did.  He hit threes like a guard (2-2), scored on an up-and-under and blocked 2 shots like a power forward, slashed to the basket like a wing and kept the ball moving. Deng also took a charge and grabbed 6 rebounds.  More and more, one can see the similarities to Grant Hill: he fills up a stat sheet.  Lu shoots the ball better than Grant but isn't quite as graceful or fluid yet. Above all else, he's a team player.  He's still educating himself as to the little things, like blocking out and communicating with one's teammates on defense, but he's getting there.  Deng quickly got the hang of ACC-level intensity after a couple of lackadaisical efforts against Virginia and Clemson, and really went all-out here.  The best thing about him is that he's eager to learn and rarely makes the same mistake twice.

 ** Ewing:  Dan didn't just score 20 points in this game; he scored 20 crucial points.  From an early three that put Duke up 8 points to one that stopped a Wake run to a late one that put Wake away, he looked to take every big shot.  Now close to 100%, he has the ability to get his own shot whenever he wants because of his quickness.  That makes him the perfect complement to Redick, who excels at spotting up or coming off screens. Dan driving and dishing to JJ for a three epitomizes what the offense can become built around those two.  Dan also valued the ball, hit his free throws and moved the ball around.  I'd like to see him go after rebounds a bit harder since he is so quick, however.

 ** Redick:  I think we can safely say that JJ's slump is now in the past. Fully healthy, JJ not only bombed away for 4 threes, he also hit a shorter jumper and scored on a nifty drive.  JJ isn't settling for the first look he has at the basket, using a quick dribble to shake his man.  I'd like to see him pursue rebounds a bit more tenaciously, but he did played fine team defense against a great group of guards.  He and Dan seem to be clicking more and more on the court, both feeding off each other and spurring runs.   When both guards are feeling it from three, Duke will be very difficult to beat.

 ** Duhon:  Playing against 2 of the best point guards in the league in Paul and Downey, Chris met the challenge and then some.  He frustrated Paul into a 3-7 shooting day and was instrumental in fouling him out. Essentially, he got Paul to think too much on the court rather than react. Duhon shrugged off a few bad turnovers to set up exactly 50% of his team's field goals (14 assists, 28 field goals) with assists, drove enough to keep Wake honest, went after rebounds and provided excellent leadership. Contrast this to his game in Winston-Salem last year when he was reduced to chucking up three point airballs.  Chris seems to know just what to do now and when to do it.

 ** Dockery:  With Ewing, Duhon and Redick playing so well, Sean didn't have much of a chance to get big minutes, though he was able to provide rest for Ewing and Redick.  He ran the offense well, hitting Duhon on a rare lob as well as hooking up with Shelden inside.  His biggest play came when he stripped Paul at halfcourt and batted the ball ahead to Redick for a huge momentum basket.  K grabbed him when he came off the court and was screaming praise at him for such a big-time hustle play.

 ** Randolph:  The bulk of Shav's work came in the first half, when he stepped in to grab 4 rebounds and block 2 shots.  Wake tried to attack him inside when Shelden sat down but it simply didn't work, as Shav remained active and alert on defense.  Duke didn't look to him very much inside, as he had trouble maintaining position against the big Wake players, though he did score late in the game.

 ** Horvath:  Nick came in for a minute towards the end of the first half and was called for a moving screen.  This was especially distressing because JJ was about to release a three that went in as he did it.  I do think that Coach K likes the idea of using him for a minute or two at the end of the first half to protect his big men from foul trouble.  While Shelden wasn't in any danger at that point, Shav did have 2 fouls.

 ** Melchionni: Just a cameo appearance for Lee.

 ** Cameron Craziness: Cameron was loud and energetic for this game.  A couple of hundred undergrads had to be turned away at the door, which hasn't happened in a while.  The stands downstairs were incredibly overstuffed with students, all of whom were in a testy mood.  They taunted and baited Chris Paul throughout the game (with the less-than-creative "Chriiiiisssss" and the better "Good Chris" [pointing to Duhon] and "Bad Chris" [pointing to Paul]).  They had so thoroughly gotten to him that he was visibly upset when he fouled out.

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