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Happy return Dunleavy scores 18, Duke cruises in visit to Portland
Updated: Wednesday December 20, 2000 2:00 AM
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Mike Dunleavy Jr. was a scrawny 6-foot-4 kid the last time his hometown fans watched him play in person. On Tuesday night, they saw what an enormously talented -- and fiercely competitive -- young man he has become. Dunleavy scored 18 points, and Carlos Boozer made all 11 of his shots for 22 points, as No. 1 Duke tuned up for Stanford by routing the University of Portland 97-64 Tuesday night. "It was special to come back home and play, especially since I'm so far away," Dunleavy said. "It was kind of weird. Even though it may have been a lesser opponent, there was a little bit of pressure. It was different. It just felt weird." Dunleavy, who has grown to a muscular 6-8 since leading nearby Jesuit High to the 1999 4A state championship, had a solid all-around game. But the son of the Portland Trail Blazers coach drew boos from the Rose Garden crowd for a hard foul in the second half. Asked if he could hear the cheers from the crowd early on, Dunleavy said, "No, but I could the people who were hating on me." The Blue Devils (10-0), who play at No. 3 Stanford on Thursday night, looked rusty early but were unstoppable during a 26-3 run to end the first half. "Our defense in the last eight minutes of the first half was the story of the game," said coach Mike Krzyzewski. "Portland came out so well-prepared against us; they run a very well-conceived offense, and it gets your defense away from the basket. I just thought their offense was beating our defense for 12 minutes." Jason Williams added 17 points for Duke despite taking an elbow above his left eye that left him bleeding on the floor. Tim Frost had 11 points to lead Portland (5-4). The Pilots were playing a top-ranked team for the first time since 1968, when they lost to UCLA. "I'm their biggest fan, so when I got in the game, that was awesome," said Portland's Casey Frandsen, who played the last three minutes. Duke hadn't played in 10 days because of final exams, and the atrophy showed. The Blue Devils trailed 17-13 early and didn't pull away until the final eight minutes, when they put together runs of 11-0 and 15-1. Shane Battier added 13 points for Duke, which shot 61 percent. But the smaller Pilots shot 56 percent. Portland was done in by 24 turnovers. Duke scheduled the game against the tiny Catholic school as a favor to Dunleavy. He struggled early, committing a backcourt foul and a turnover in the opening minutes before settling down. Many among the crowd turned on him, though, when he knocked down Portland's Bryan Mills on a breakaway dunk attempt with 12:22 remaining and Duke leading by 35. Mills left the game holding his right wrist and didn't return. Williams' injury looked just as bad when he went down with 6:06 left in the first half. He was trying to draw a charge from Pilots guard Travis Andrews just past half-court when Andrews swung the ball around and caught Williams with his right elbow. Williams lay on the court, holding his face with his bloody right hand, but he returned with about 15 minutes left in the second half. The Pilots, getting a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play one of the best teams in the country, were pumped up early, and went ahead 17-13 on a 3-pointer by trash-talking point guard Ryan Jones. Leading only 26-25, Duke laid off the its full-court press and tightened up in the half-court, allowing Williams to run and create shots. His 3-pointer started an 11-0 run, and after a hook shot by Portland's Diaby Damara, the Pilots went the final 4:49 of the half without a field goal. Boozer made three baskets during a 15-1 run, including a strong two-handed dunk, and Chris Duhon's layup pushed the lead 52-28 lead at halftime.
The game drew 15,341 fans to the 19,980-seat Rose Garden, making it the largest crowd to ever watch a college basketball game in Oregon.
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