Winning streak begins anew as Duke pounds Georgia Tech

ATLANTA - Coach Mike Krzyzewski's words said one thing-the Maryland loss didn't mean that much and the game was any other game. But Jason William's eyes and Chris Carrawell's play said something entirely else-losing streaks aren't the way Duke plays basketball.

A visibly tired but typically hard-nosed Carrawell led six Blue Devils in double figures with 15 points as No. 3 Duke (19-3, 8-1 in the ACC) rebounded from its first ACC loss since 1998, dominating Georgia Tech 84-65 in Alexander Memorial Coliseum Saturday.

"Losing hurts and we're glad to be done with that," Carrawell said. "We just know that we can't take winning for granted."

After taking an early 6-5 advantage, the Yellow Jackets (11-12, 3-7) watched helplessly as a relentless Duke defense pushed the Blue Devils out to a double-digit lead just over seven minutes into the game.

Only once afterwards did Georgia Tech, which entered the game with two straight ACC wins and an upset victory over Virginia, cut the Blue Devil advantage to under 10.

"They were relentless on defense," Yellow Jacket coach Bobby Cremins said. "We could not run our offense."

A six-point Georgia Tech spurt, capped by a three-pointer from the top of the key which gave Jason Collier his first points of the game, cut the lead to nine points with 11:15 left in the first half.

But on the ensuing possession, Shane Battier drove hard to the rim for a layup, toppling Collier for a called block that brought the game's biggest reaction from the under-capacity crowd.

Then, on the final possession of the second half, Mike Dunleavy all but ended the game and ensured himself a spot on the season highlight reels as he ball-faked Vines at the three-point line, spun past a slashing Tech defender and glided across the lane to lay the ball in from the opposite side of the hoop.

"The game was decided by a couple of scoring spurts," Krzyzewski said. "The last four points of the half was one, when Dunleavy made that move I've been working on with him; I've been trying to get him to use that move."

Even Williams, the Blue Devils' style judge in residence, was impressed by Dunleavy's game-stopping move.

"At the end of the half, we like to go to him, he usually finishes," Williams said of Dunleavy, whose father, Portland Trail Blazer coach Mike Dunleavy Sr., was in attendance with the rest of his family. "But... wow, he usually doesn't finish like that."

The Blue Devils never let Georgia Tech get into a comfortable offensive set as they allowed just 24 Yellow Jacket field goal attempts in the first half to their own 36.

"When it needed to be done, we wanted to be able to get down and play defense," Dunleavy said. "We played with a high level of intensity, Duke style."

And the Yellow Jackets were unable to counter.

The Blue Devils committed a season-low seven turnovers for the game, including only one in the first half.

"We took great control of the ball today," Krzyzewski said. "That's what we worked on because we usually don't turn it over much and force a lot more turnovers, but against Maryland that was completely the opposite."

Neither of Georgia Tech's big men were able to make an impact against the undersized Blue Devils. Collier found the ball in his hand seldomly and he put up just seven shots for the game. The pre-season first team All-ACC center only scored seven points before the game's final seven minutes, as the Blue Devil advantage hovered in the high 20s.

Frontcourt mate Alvin Jones fared even worse as he was held to only four points. Neither was able to free himself against a physical Duke frontcourt.

"Carlos Boozer and Matt Christensen played their two big guys well," Krzyzewski said. "That definitely was a key to our victory."

Duke pushed the lead to as many as 27 in the second half on a Williams breakaway dunk with 5:29 to play. The 19-point final margin was the closest Georgia Tech had been since a pair of Shaun Fein free throws pulled the Yellow Jackets within 16 with 15:54 to go.