KUNSHAN, CHINA — Despite more than 24 hours of travel and a 2 a.m. local time arrival in China, the Blue Devils overcame major jet lag en route to a 77-64 victory over the U-23 Chinese national team Wednesday evening.
Austin Rivers, Andre Dawkins and Ryan Kelly—who contributed 18, 15 and 14 points respectively—led Duke to the victory in Kunshan Stadium in front of a combination of Duke fans traveling with the team, Cross Continent MBA students from the Fuqua School of Business and local Chinese fans. The Blue Devil starters in the matchup—Rivers, Dawkins, Kelly, Seth Curry and Miles Plumlee—combined for all but 11 of the Blue Devils’ points.
The Blue Devils started by taking a 9-8 lead but playing with what Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski called from the sideline “a lack of energy.” All five starters were quickly sent to the bench, and Duke responded, ending the first half up 32-23 highlighted by a reverse alley-oop finished by Miles Plumlee right before the buzzer.
“It was pretty good,” Kelly, who also had 13 rebounds, said of the team’s performance. “We got knocked back a bit early, [and] I think we needed to come out with a bit more aggression, but at least guys responded, which was the best thing.”
The players on both the Duke and China teams had only practiced with their respective squads for a couple of weeks before the contest. NCAA rules allowed the Blue Devils to practice 10 times before their international tour, and the group of Chinese players Duke faced Wednesday has only been playing together for three weeks. After both struggling to score in the first half, however, play picked up in the final 20 minutes as both teams scored more than 40 points in the latter part of the game.
Rivers stood out among the Blue Devils’ crop of five new freshmen. He looked especially comfortable on the offensive end, blowing by defenders with hard crossovers. Fellow freshman Alex Murphy also showed promise, posting an emphatic block close to the basket in the fourth quarter.
“Austin was terrific for his first game, and I think the other freshmen were a little nervous but will play better,” Krzyzewski said. “I think it’s a great experience for them to be here for their first game.”
Krzyzewski was irate with the officiating through most of the game, voicing his disagreement even in the last minute of the contest. He was especially displeased with the discrepancy in free throws—China shot 40 to Duke’s 15—though after the game he downplayed his anger.
“In 38 years of coaching, I’m always unhappy with the officials,” Krzyzewski said. “So it’s nothing new, and you get competitive and you want the calls to go your way. That’s part of the game.”
During the game, a number of famous personalities in the stands attracted the crowd’s attention. At halftime, a rapidly-growing group of somewhat-forceful fans surrounded Boston Celtics head coach—and father of Austin Rivers—Doc Rivers, hoping to get autographs. Security personnel ultimately cleared the area, but not before a number of fans climbed up into the seating area in which Rivers sat.
Former Blue Devil star Grant Hill kept a lower profile, blending in to the crowd with his Duke blue Nicholas School of the Environment T-shirt until fans surrounded him while he tried to exit the arena.
A rematch of tonight’s game will take place tomorrow at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai. The contest will begin at 8 a.m. EST.
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