WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—In the Blue Devils' first road contest of the season, they did not get out to the start they wanted. But after trailing 20-16 in the first eight minutes, Duke used a 10-2 run to take the lead for good and enters the locker room with a 42-34 halftime advantage.
Player of the half: Zion Williamson
The Spartanburg, S.C., native led the Blue Devils offense through the opening portion of the half and scored eight of Duke’s first 11 points. He was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field with the 3-pointer and a free throw. Down four points after the under-12 timeout, Williamson put back an offensive rebound and slammed down an alley-oop from classmate Tre Jones to even the game after returning from the bench. Williamson finished the half with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and four assists.
Struggles from long range continue
Duke opened the half with made 3-pointers from both Williamson and R.J. Barrett, but the team’s next nine shots from behind the arc were all off target. While the Blue Devils were unable to consistently drain the 3-pointer, Duke made its mark around the rim. After missing two triples on one possession a little more than seven minutes in, Reddish faked a three and drove along baseline to dunk the ball for his first two points on his third touch. Reddish broke the stretch with 5:28 remaining.
Inability to get to the line
Although Duke attacked the paint often, the road team stayed away from the charity strip for the majority of the half. Williamson made his only free throw and Javin DeLaurier split a pair for only three attempted shots. The Blue Devils finished the half shooting only 3-of-6 at the stripe.
Wake Forest attacking on the perimeter
In the opening four minutes, the Demon Deacons attacked the rim and scored their first eight points and knotted the score at nine apiece at the first media timeout. Then Marques Bolden’s block led to fast break layup for Jones followed by Jack White’s two blocks on one sequence six allowed the Blue Devils to get back the lead. After that, the Demon Deacons started to shoot the three more successfully to help give them the lead. Wake Forest has just 10 points in the paint.
Turnovers haunting Duke
After giving the ball away four times in the open seven minutes, the Blue Devils took care of the ball for the next five minutes before Williamson turned it over. Duke finished the half with nine turnovers while Wake Forest had 10 giveaways.
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