12:57 AM
Everything about the Duke-Goliath game felt magnified.
The game lived up to the hype and Duke won 84-81.
Paolo Banchero had 20 of his game-high 21 points in the first half of the victory. He did it all for Duke, including going 3-of-8 from 3-point range, and proved to be an unstoppable force. He left the game in the second half with the same issues that he had in the first half. He came back at the eight-minute mark of the second half.
Duke also displayed its depth. Mark Williams and Wendell Moore Jr. helped keep the Blue Devil's edge.
The projected No. 1 pick in the draft missed his first three 3-point attempts but had an efficient effort around the rim. He made key plays late. The 7-footer picked up his second foul near the 10-minute mark and the team had to play most of the first half without him.
Drew Timme was 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 The sophomore had a big night in front of family and friends. He finished with 20 points.
Duke's speed and athletic ability gave it the edge. The Blue Devil had a weapon. The Jesuits did not.
The streets around the building were blocked off by police cars before the game. The fans were in the middle of the game. Some courtside seats were going for over $8,000.
The crowd of 20,389 filled the arena and set a record for the largest basketball crowd in Nevada history.
A fan in the concourse received a phone call and kept saying to the person on the other end, "I can't hear you!" I can't hear you!
After a fast start, Duke was only able to take a three-point lead at halftime. Duke had to weather the absence of Banchero in the second half.
Moore made his free throws after intercepting the inbounds pass, and Duke had a 75- 73 lead. A Duke free throw followed.
The bucket by Timme cut Duke's lead to one. Two more Duke free throws followed. When Timme threw a pass to Holmgren for a dunk on the other end, it was a one-point game, and Duke's lead was extended to 80-77 with 41.2 seconds to play.
The pace of the game had been fast. Nothing ever seemed to stick as Gonzaga got close. Williams altered Timme's shot with 30 seconds to play. Duke made three throws to seal the win and hand the first loss of the season to the team from the other side of the country.
