The Blue Devils must be excited for Thursday's Thanksgiving meal—they came out hungry Wednesday against Furman.
No. 4 Duke cruised past the Paladins 93-54 Wednesday at Cameron Indoor Stadium behind a double-double from junior Amile Jefferson. The captain recorded 16 points—one shy of his career best—and added 12 rebounds and made all six of his shots in the first half.
The first five minutes dictated the rest of the game to come. Duke sprinted out to a 9-0 lead by the under-16 media timeout and never looked back as the Paladins missed their first six shot attempts.
"We've been working on having mental sprints. It's one thing to play hard, play physical," Jefferson said "It's another thing to think the game really fast, to go from one play to another, to score and then go right into the trap. Our guys did that tonight."
Freshman center Jahlil Okafor was back to his dominant self Wednesday, hitting 12-of-14 shots—including five dunks—en route to a 24-point night to lead all scorers. It was the first time a Duke (6-0) player has scored more than 20 points in a game this season.
The Chicago native benefited from facing a smaller Furman (1-3) frontcourt and Paladin head coach Niko Medved's strategy not to bring an automatic double-team every time Okafor caught the ball down low.
"He was making amazing decisions," Jefferson said. "When [the double-team] did come, he passed out really good, and when it was slow, by the time it got there he was already going up. He finished really, really strong today. If he had to take a lay-up, he took a lay-up, but for the most part they were dunks."
Jefferson used three successive buckets in the paint to double his scoring before halftime. The junior has reaped the benefits of playing opposite Okafor this season and turned in his best performance to date Wednesday.
Duke's starting frontcourt of Okafor and Jefferson took full advantage of its opportunities inside, combining for 40 points and 19 rebounds, missing just three shots. As a team, the Blue Devils commanded a 54-18 edge in points in the paint and outrebounded the Paladins by 14.
"Amile had a heck of a game. He was all over the place defensively, talking," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "You have to learn how to [play alongside Okafor]. The more they play together, the more he'll figure it out."
Four Blue Devils finished in double-figures, including sophomore Matt Jones, who provided a spark off the bench in his 10 minutes on the floor in the first half. The DeSoto, Texas, native drilled an open 3-pointer from the right corner on his first shot of the afternoon, then doubled down by sinking another triple from the opposite baseline in transition on the next possession to extend the Blue Devil advantage.
Playing with improved confidence from a season ago, Jones added two more buckets from beyond the arc after halftime, giving him 13 points on the night, which tied the sophomore's career high.
As easy as the Blue Devils made the inside-out game look Wednesday, they made life equally difficult for Furman on the other end of the court. Duke's defense forced 14 Paladin turnovers and got out on the break on both steals and long rebounds, outscoring Furman 15-0 in transition points.
"We just tried to go out there and win every 50-50 ball," freshman swingman Justise Winslow said. "Loose balls, diving on the court, those type of things. Our communication, our talking really led to the boost in our intensity and that 15-0 [edge]."
After freshman Grayson Allen knocked down a triple from the corner on a designed play just before the halftime horn, the Paladins headed to the locker room trailing 50-22.
It didn't get any better for Furman after intermission.
Jefferson and freshman point guard Tyus Jones ran the pick-and-roll to perfection early in the second half. After using a Jefferson screen on the right wing moving right to left, Jones came back across another Jefferson pick, then fit a pocket pass between two Paladins to the cutting forward, who finished in traffic to put Duke up by 30 for the first time.
In another sequence, the Blue Devils put their unselfishness on full display. The ball pinged back and forth around the perimeter, passing up good shot after good shot. Finally, the ball was pitched into Jefferson in the high post, who turned for what could've been a short jumper. Instead, the junior lobbed another pass to Okafor, who converted the lay-up.
Jones was held scoreless—he took just two shots—but racked up seven more assists, bringing his assist-to-turnover ratio to 5:1. The freshman also didn't register a field goal in Duke's win against Stanford, but has continued to facilitate the offense for a team comprised of willing passers who double as McDonald's All-Americans—a rare, almost oxymoronic, scouting report.
"It's hard to come by. When you have a group this talented, you expect guys to take the first shot, or everyone's playing for the stats," Jefferson said. "On this team, you don't know who's the leading scorer, you don't know who had the most points tonight. All you know is that guys are making passes. That selflessness is contagious... It's fun to play that way."
After its latest double-digit victory, Duke will celebrate Thanksgiving Thursday before turning its attention to Army. The Blue Devils will host the Black Knights at noon Sunday.
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