After a couple days of rest for Thanksgiving, Duke has showed no rust in its return to the floor.
The Blue Devils knocked down four straight 3-pointers to open up a 12-2 lead in the first two minutes Saturday against Appalachian State, and they maintained that cushion on their way to a 55-34 halftime lead. Junior guard Grayson Allen made Duke's first two triples and has 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting—including 4-of-6 from long range—at the break.
The preseason All-American has made at least five field goals in a game for just the second time this season, but picked up his third foul late in the first half.
Jones and Kennard both contributed to the 3-point barrage to force Mountaineer head coach Jim Fox to use an early timeout, but Appalachian State weathered the storm for the rest of the half. The Mountaineers drove through the Blue Devil defense for several easy layups and finished the half shooting 40.7 percent from the field with five 3-pointers.
But although Duke went cold at the end of the half, missing nine of its last 11 3-point attempts. it extended its lead behind a strong performance in the frontcourt. Graduate student Amile Jefferson has eight points and five rebounds, and the Blue Devils are outrebounding the Mountaineers—who entered the contest 15th in the nation in rebounding margin—25-13.
When Appalachian State's Isaac Johnson made a triple to trim the Blue Devil lead to 22-15, Duke responded by attacking the basket and taking control of the game from the free throw. The Blue Devils scored seven of the game's next eight points on free throws to push their lead to 13 and have not led by fewer than 10 points since.
An alley-oop from Kennard to freshman Javin DeLaurier in transition with seven minutes left sparked a 10-4 run to put Duke in front by 20, and Allen knocked down two more 3-pointers in the closing minutes to keep the Blue Devil offense rolling.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- Duke's early-season struggles from the line appear to have been extinguished. The Blue Devils shot 19-of-22 against William & Mary and are perfect from the charity stripe today, making all 13 of their attempts.
- Allen grimaced and limped down the floor after his first 3-pointer in the opening seconds, but did not leave the game. His injury did not appear to bother him too much, as he went on to have his best half of the season.
- Duke started the same four-guard lineup it has used in its last two games with Allen, Kennard, Jones and Frank Jackson surrounding Jefferson in the post.
- Kennard shot 1-of-10 from the field despite the Blue Devils' offensive explosion, though he led Duke with seven rebounds and added two assists.
- The Blue Devils took excellent care of the ball, committing just two turnovers in the first half.
- Injured freshmen Harry Giles and Marques Bolden both participated fully in pregame warmups, but spent the entire half at the end of the bench and do not appear ready to play yet.
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