No. 2 Duke clobbers Clemson
Devils pull away in 2nd half for Coach K's 450th win
Posted: Thursday January 21, 1999 12:53 AM
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Dinner is served: Duke's Elton Brand (42) serves up a monster rejection AP |
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was looking for a different way to beat Clemson. He settled for Elton Brand and the same old blowout Wednesday night.
The second-ranked Blue Devils led only 32-29 at halftime as their top two scorers, Trajan Langdon and Brand, hit a combined 2-of-9 shots from the field.
"I told my team we needed to learn to find different ways at the half," Krzyzewski said.
Instead, Brand's jams and Duke's defensive pressure -- just like most nights -- took control for an 82-60 victory, the 13th straight for the Blue Devils (18-1, 7-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
At halftime, Brand could only shake his head -- one basket, one rebound and not one play to remember.
"The second half I wanted to assert myself and finish," said Brand, who scored 17 of his 22 points after the break. "We got to playing Duke style of basketball."
William Avery had 18 points, 12 in the first half, and was nearly flawless with the basketball as Duke finished with almost as many blocks (seven) as turnovers (eight).
The Blue Devils came out firing in the second half, with Shane Battier making two 3-pointers and Langdon one to start a 13-5 run.
The Tigers (12-7, 1-5), playing without suspended starters Vincent Whitt and Johnny Miller and injured sixth man Tony Christie, couldn't do much to slow Duke and watched the lead gradually grow as big as 28 points.
Clemson had been in the Top 25 since November but fell out this week as it lost for the sixth time in seven games. Leading scorer Terrell McIntyre went just 5-of-18 from the field for 13 points.
Trajan Langdon and Brand were a combined 2-of-9 shooting at halftime
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"When you lose the players we lost who gave quality minutes, it's hard to respond," McIntyre said.
Clemson coach Larry Shyatt would not say if Miller and Whitt would play Sunday against No. 4 Maryland.
Brand said the Blue Devils were crossed up by Clemson's tempo changes. Some possessions would be slow and laboring, others sharp and speedy.
"We were letting them dictate the game to us," Brand said. "In the second half, we came out with a lot of intensity, got our legs, got the feel and just finished."
Avery and Battier kept Duke in it while Brand struggled at the start. And when Battier swished his two 3-pointers, that was all Duke needed to get going.
"We had a little bit of a lead, they had to take some chances, and we began to make some transition baskets," said Battier, who had nine points and eight rebounds.
Avery scored 10 of the Blue Devils' first 12 points and Battier kept the middle clogged in the first half. Avery's only 3-pointer gave Duke its first lead, and he steadied the club in an unexpectedly tough first half.
Without Miller and Whitt, suspended Wednesday for violating team policy, Clemson was thought to be little more than road-kill under the wheels of the Blue Devils' express through the ACC.
The Tigers forced their freshmen to stick with Duke. And for a half, they did.
Will Solomon scored nine of his career-high 19 points and picked up for McIntyre, who opened 1-of-9. Forwards Dustin Braddick and Chucky Gilmore combined for six points and battled Duke's never-ending battalion of big bodies.
The victory was the 450th at Duke for coach Mike Krzyzewski, who missed practice Tuesday with a pain in his left shoulder. After an exam Tuesday night, he flew into Clemson a few hours before the game.
Afterward, Krzyzewski said he felt fine.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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