NEW YORK—For the first time this season No. 4 Duke had significant problems scoring the basketball, but that wasn't enough to derail the Blue Devils as they bested Temple 74-54 in the semifinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn Friday night.
"We did not hit like we normally hit, so that made us playing defense even better, because you’re frustrated, missing some shots," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Overall a good performance, and against them, beating a really good program."
It wasn't until three minutes went by in the second half that the Blue Devils were finally able to seize control against a feisty Owl team. Forward Amile Jefferson got the team back on track with a nifty layup in the paint with 16:44 to play. A few possessions later, point guard Quinn Cook capped a 9-2 run with a long 3-pointer to stretch Duke's lead to 17 points—its largest lead of the game at that point.
Four minutes later, Cook brought the Barclays Center crowd to its feet with a timely triple from right in front of the Duke bench to push the Blue Devil lead to 22 and put the game away. Temple would close to within 14 with five minutes left to play, but could get no closer than that.
Although Cook was able to come up with a few key 3-pointers, on the whole, the long ball betrayed Duke Friday night. The 3-pointer had been one of the Blue Devils' most potent weapons coming into the game, as the team was shooting 47.8 percent from beyond the arc.
That strong shooting was nowhere to be found against the Owls, as Duke shot just 30.4 percent for the game after going 3-of-11 in the opening half.
"We didn’t execute as well as we wanted to and we just missed some open shots," forward Justise Winslow said. "But our offense was there in the first half, we just have to do a better job of putting the ball in the hole."
Shooting as a whole was problematic for the Blue Devils (4-0) in the first half, perhaps for nobody more so than freshman phenom Jahlil Okafor. Duke's man in the middle shot just 3-for-13 in the opening period despite getting consistent looks from point-blank range. His 10 misses were exactly twice the number of misses he had through the first three games combined.
"[The Owls] are real physical, clean," Krzyzewski said. "Jah’s got to be ready for that. The bodying up when you do have the ball, it has an impact on your shot. He is an outstanding player, he’s going to be a terrific player. He’s got to go through these things....You have to play through that contact."
In the second half, Okafor looked like a new player, going 4-of-7 from the floor, eventually finishing the game with 16 points and eight rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass.
With Okafor lacking his A-game early, the Blue Devils relied on stingy, hard-nosed defense to stay ahead of the Owls (2-1). In the opening period alone Duke was able to force 10 Temple turnovers, pilfer five steals and hold the opposition to 34.5 percent shooting.
"Once we get on the defensive end we’re all together, locked in and focused, and trying to get a rebound, trying to keep them to one shot," Winslow said. "Contest—no easy shots, no layups and just tough twos. On the defensive end we just try to compete and fight all the time."
By the time the final buzzer sounded, three Blue Devils had broken into double figures, as the dependable trio of Cook, Okafor and Winslow combined for 48 points. Tyus Jones, whose jumper never really got going, was able to leave his mark on the game by accumulating seven assists and three steals while expertly piloting the offensive attack.
"My job is to orchestrate things out there and be the leader out there on the floor," Jones said. "I was able to find some guys for some good looks and they were able to knock them down and put the ball through the basket. My shot wasn’t falling today, but that’s not something I worry about. I worry about leading this team."
Duke has a quick turnaround, returning to the floor at 9:30 p.m. Saturday night to face Stanford—led by former Blue Devil star and associate head coach Johnny Dawkins—in the finals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
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