Duke overcomes tough Deacons team down the stretch.

13 and counting

No court-storming this year.

If you like defense, then Joel Coliseum was the place to be. Wake Forest held Duke to a season-low 63 points, forcing the Blue Devils into 16 turnovers and an abysmal 9 for 32 shooting from beyond the arc.

And still lost. Because Duke’s defense was even better. Or Wake’s offense was even worse. Take your pick. The Deacs shot 3 for 18 on 3-pointers and came out on the short end of a 63-56 score.

Yes, the teams shot a combined 12 for 50 on 3-pointers, 24%.

At the end of the day it’s a Duke win at a venue where Duke lost the last two seasons. Duke’s winning streak is 13, the Blue Devils are 9-0 in the ACC, 17-2 overall.

The loss drops the Deacs to 7-2, 15-5 and ends their winning streak at six.

Duke never really looked in rhythm offensively. But they held the home team to scoring droughts of 5:30 and 3:26 and took a 35-22 lead into halftime.

Kon Knueppel supplied much of Duke’s limited offense in the first half, with 12 points, eight in the final 3:38. Cooper Flagg added nine.

What happened to the rest of the offense? Khaman Maluach spent most of the half on the bench with two fouls, while Tyrese Proctor and Sion James couldn’t the proverbial broad-side of the barn.

Maluach, Caleb Foster and Isaiah Evans would all go scoreless on the evening.

Still, a 13-point lead at the half on the road seemed comfortable for a team that has been blowing out opponents on a regular basis.

But much of the second half was a shooting horror show for Duke.

Duke shot a couple of air-balls coming out of the locker room and it went downhill from there.

Flagg was the only Blue Devil to score for the first 12:40 of the second half. No, that’s not a typo. And it’s not like Flagg went off or anything. He scored six points in that span.

Wake Forest caught up, took the lead and hit their high-water mark at the mid-point of the second half, when a Juke Harris lay-up put them up 45-39.

If you’re wondering “Juke who?,” he’s a freshman forward who came into the game averaging just over five points per game and led the Deacs with 14 points.

I digress. Counting the final basket of the first half Wake had outscored Duke 25-4.

Yes Flagg might be the best player in the country. But he needs SOME help.

Nobody was worried about Duke not getting tested.

But give Duke tons of credit. On the road, shooting poorly, in foul trouble, they settled down and made the plays they had to make.

Flagg of course. Because that’s what he does. But Duke kept Wake at 45 points for almost three crucial minutes while they figured it out on offense.

We saw some zone, Tyrese Proctor shook off a disastrous shooting game to knock down a triple to put Duke up 56-49 and Mason Gillis made two from beyond the arc, the second making it 59-52 and Duke was celebrating another ACC road win, one with some adversity, more than some physicality and some well-earned downtime before a struggling NC State team comes to town Monday.

Flagg ended with 24 points, seven rebounds, six assists and yes seven turnovers. Knueppel added 15, Gillis 11. Knueppel led Duke with nine rebounds, Proctor eight, as Duke out-rebounded Wake 46-29.

Duke held Sallis to 12 points, seven below his season average, and 17 fewer than he scored when Wake upset Duke last season.

Scheyer cited his team’s mental toughness after falling behind by six, telling them at a timeout “ ‘this is where we want to be.’ We have to be in these situations. It wasn’t panic mode. We’ve talked way more about the mental preparation and the toughness you have to have in these environments, in these games. These guys executed.”

“I thought it was a big opportunity for us to show that we can stay composed.” Flagg added. “Even when a team makes a run, just stay level-headed.”

Gillis came in for his share of well-deserved praise, both for his statistical contribution but also for his toughness and leadership.

“We’ve just got to stick to our details,” he said. “Play to our standard. Through the course of the game, averages play out. If we keep playing and doing what we’re supposed to do, help each other out, do our jobs, good things happen.”