GREENSBORO — Duke forward Kyle Singler doesn't stay down for long.

He missed just one minute of Duke's 77-74 defeat of Miami on Saturday after absorbing an inadvertent, below-the-belt shot while chasing a rebound during the first half.

"I just kind of lost my breath," Singler said, smiling, after the ACC semifinal win.

Singler's start to the second half had Duke's fans breathing more easily, after the top-seeded Blue Devils trailed by three at halftime. Duke will be looking for a faster start when it meets No. 7 seed Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. today in the ACC tournament championship game at the Greensboro Coliseum.

The Blue Devils (28-5), who suffered all manner of indignities early in the game, have not been a first-half team in this ACC tournament. They were tied with Virginia at the half in Friday's quarterfinals.

In the semifinals Saturday, No. 12 seed Miami (20-13) scored 17 of the last 19 points of the first half, leading 35-32 after a deep 3-pointer by Malcolm Grant four seconds before halftime.

That Miami surge had been accompanied by a technical foul by referee Roger Ayers on coach Mike Krzyzewski. He had been warned by the officials as he protested while Duke was called for 11 fouls to Miami's six during the half.

"I don't know why the technical was called on me," Krzyzewski said. "To ask me why a technical was called on me means that I can read someone's mind. And I can't do that."

Krzyzewski did find a way to revive Duke's offense, though, after the Blue Devils missed 10 of their first 12 first-half 3-point attempts. He urged his players to attack aggressively after they were content to pass around the outside of Miami's zone defense in the first half.

Singler started the second half with two 3-pointers 32 seconds apart to give the Blue Devils a lead they never relinquished. He scored 17 of his game-high 27 points after halftime and also led Duke with six assists.

"We were able to penetrate their zone more and have a more dynamic offense," Singler said.

The Blue Devils fed off Singler's resilience and led by as many as 16 points in the second half. Durand Scott, who scored 21 points, helped Miami claw back into the game again, but Duke made seven of eight free throws in the final 42 seconds.

That set the stage for a big day today. Duke has a chance to win the tournament for the second year in a row and the ninth time in 12 years.

And while bouncing back and finishing strong would be fine, Singler wouldn't mind getting off to a faster start.

"We really haven't had a good first half in this tournament," Singler said. "It is frustrating, but I think the sign of a good team is to bounce back in the second half and find a way to win."

Staff photographer Robert Willett contributed to this report.

Duke 77, Miami 74

Percentages: FG .455, FT .762. 3-point goals: 8-15, .533 (Grant 3-5, Dews 2-4, Jones 1-1, Scott 1-2, Thomas 1-3). Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 4 (Johnson 2, Jones, Thomas). Turnovers: 8 (Gamble 2, Scott 2, Grant 2, Johnson, Dews). Steals: 4 (Scott 2, Gamble, Jones). Technical fouls: none.

Percentages: FG .481, FT .750. 3-Point Goals: 7-22, .318 (Singler 5-9, Scheyer 2-6, Dawkins 0-3, Smith 0-4). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 5 (Ma. Plumlee 2, Singler, Scheyer, Zoubek). Turnovers: 11 (Smith 3, Thomas 2, Scheyer 2, Singler, Dawkins, Zoubek). Steals: 5 (Scheyer 3, Ma. Plumlee, Smith). Technical fouls: Bench.

Att.-na. Officials-Jamie Luckie, Roger Ayers, Gary Maxwell.

ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com or 919-829-8942