ATLANTA - For the first time in his last six games, J.J. Redick looked human.
He missed open shots throughout the first half, struggling to a 2-for-11 performance. With 16:40 to play in the second half, he seemed poised to break his slump on a wide-open three from the corner, but it didn't go down.
But Redick-and his team-never lost confidence in his shooting stroke, and he eventually broke out of his slump and scored 16 points down the stretch, including 9-of-10 shooting from the foul line, to ensure a Duke victory over Georgia Tech.
"Any time a shooter is cold, they tell him to keep shooting," forward Shelden Williams said. "When J.J. saw a couple shots go in late in the game, all of a sudden he's back to being same old J.J."
Even though Redick did not put up more than 30 points for the first time in six games and struggled mightily for most of the contest-it was his worst shooting performance of the season-he once again showed his mettle.
After missing his first six shots of the second half and starting the game 2-for-17, the senior did not lose confidence. Instead, he looked for the shots that could help his team win and made plays for the Blue Devils when they needed him most.
With the game tied at 53, he drilled a pull-up 18-foot jumper-his first field goal of the second half-to put Duke up two. The next time down the court, Duke's all-time leading scorer-who is nine points shy of becoming the ACC's top scorer-ran around a Williams screen, got open and nailed his first three-pointer of the game on his sixth attempt.
"It was just a matter of making the next play and not worrying about my shooting percentage," Redick said. "You always have to have that mentality: 'next play.' I just had to step up at a big moment in the game."
The two shots did more than energize Redick-they got the whole team excited about its chances to win.
"He definitely gives us confidence," freshman Greg Paulus said. "We know that when he's hitting his shot, we're very tough to defend."
And from that point on, the Blue Devils took off, building the lead to as many as 11 points. Redick padded his stats with a couple of free throws down the stretch, but it was obvious to all that he did not have one of his better games.
Even so, he showed why he is one of the best players in the country. On an off night, he did not lose his confidence and made the two shots he absolutely had to.
"It's the law of percentages," Redick said. "Eventually, some shots are going to go in. Fortunately tonight, the shots that went in were pretty big ones."
Ironically, the play that got Redick refocused on his efforts was neither of those makes, but the shot that preceded it.
It was like a lot of Redick's attempts throughout his Duke career. He pump-faked, two defenders went flying past him, and he had a wide-open layup. Only this time, he missed it. It was Redick's 15th miss in 17 attempts from the field in the game, and it came from directly under the basket, but it still didn't take away his confidence.
"After that one, I was like, 'Man, forget it. Don't even worry about it, just take the next shot,'" Redick said of his botched layup.
And if anyone needed more evidence that Redick should always "take the next shot" when he's struggling, this game was it. Duke's all-time leading scorer once again proved that he'll do whatever it takes to win.
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