J.J. Redick calmly drained his sixth three-pointer of the night with 4:15 remaining, and the Cameron Crazies erupted in celebration as the senior surpassed Duke great Johnny Dawkins to become the Blue Devils' all-time leading scorer with 2,557 career points.
The record-breaking shot capped Redick's scoring at 30 and helped No. 2 Duke (25-1, 13-0 in the ACC) knock off Miami, 92-71, at Cameron Indoor Stadium Sunday.
"It was a great atmosphere," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "You see something historic with J.J. breaking Johnny's record, and Johnny being here. What a great thing. I'm really proud of J.J."
Redick has now notched five-consecutive 30-point games-the longest streak in Duke history-and was honored in a postgame ceremony for the second-straight contest. The senior was recognized after Duke's Feb. 14 win over Wake Forest after he passed Curtis Staples to become the NCAA's all-time leader in three-point shots made.
After the clock ran out on Sunday night's victory over Miami (14-12, 6-7), Dawkins, along with Athletic Director Joe Alleva and President Richard Brodhead, presented Redick with a game ball at halfcourt.
"I just think it's great that Johnny was here, and Johnny's his coach," Krzyzewski said. "You have two of the greatest players in the history of Duke basketball right there at center court with our A.D. and President. That's a nice picture."
Moments after hitting the shot to pass the associate head coach, senior Lee Melchionni deflected the ball out of bounds at the Miami baseline, forcing a media timeout. The sellout crowd gave Redick a standing ovation and the student band remained silent as the Cameron Crazies serenaded the senior with bows and the traditional "J.J. Redick... Dy-no-mite" cheer.
"It took everything in my will power to hold back tears," Redick said. "This is a day that I've dreamed of and to do it at home was great."
With the game tied at 28 and just over seven minutes remaining in the first half, Redick drove the lane and drew a foul. The senior's two free throws sparked a 20-8 Duke run and gave the Blue Devils an insurmountable advantage after the Miami defense had kept the Hurricanes in the game early.
Facing a zone defense for extended periods of time in the first half, Duke struggled passing the ball, and at one point, committed turnovers on three consecutive possessions.
"We were anxious," senior guard Sean Dockery said. "When you see a team playing zone, you get excited. So we were just anxious, trying to make plays that are not fit for us and forcing passes. But we are a mature team and we showed maturity every game. We stopped [making mistakes] and then executed well and got our shots."
Redick scored 22 points in the first period and sophomore DeMarcus Nelson notched 11 points and drained several key three-pointers before the break. The Blue Devils racked up a season-best 59 points in the first half despite their nine turnovers.
Forward Josh McRoberts served as another weapon in Duke's fast start. His alley-oop dunk with 2:50 remaining in the half extended the Duke lead to 14 and accounted for two of only 11 points in the paint by the Blue Devils in the first half.
The freshman finished with 14 points, added seven rebounds and was an impressive 9-for-11 from the free-throw line.
McRoberts started the season hitting less than half his shots from the charity stripe, but has shot 82 percent from the line in his last six games. The improvement at the line has coincided with a drastic improvement in his all-around performance-McRoberts scored in double figures for the fourth time in six contests.
"He's comfortable now, he looks like a veteran," Krzyzewski said. "He's going to continue to improve. The last month, he has a feel for what it takes. He likes being out there, he's comfortable. It's reflected right away in free-throw shooting."
Notes:
The win clinched Duke at least a share of the regular-season ACC title with N.C. State. Having topped the Wolfpack Jan. 18, the win also guarantees Duke the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament in Greensboro March 9-12.... Redick passed Dawkins and Rodney Monroe to move into second place on the ACC's all-time scoring list. He is 30 points away from tying Dickie Hemric's league record of 2,587 career points.... Shavlik Randolph and Chris Duhon were both in attendance.... Freshman Jordan Davidson scored his first points at Duke when he connected on a three with 27 seconds remaining.
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