DURHAM -- Mason Plumlee tried a shot fake and a step-back before finally making a strong move along the baseline. But Plumlee's defender was with him every step of the way, cutting off the angle to the basket and drawing a charge on the Duke big man.
It's not surprising Mason's opponent didn't fall for any of his fakes; Miles Plumlee has seen them a million times before.
"You get to know a person's tendencies so well. It's kind of crazy," Mason said. "It's good though, because it gets you working on new things and you have to find new ways to score."
Mason, a junior at Duke, showed enough moves to get the better of his older brother Miles Tuesday. Mason had 36 points and 12 rebounds as Team McGladrey defeated 751 South 92-90 in the Greater N.C. Pro-Am summer league at N.C. Central.
Miles, a senior at Duke, finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
"It's fun," Miles said. "That's the reason I came out. I was going to stay in and work on some homework, but he was playing so I wanted to come out and play."
The Plumlees, who are both listed as 6-foot, 10-inches tall, were matched up against each other for all 40 minutes - from the tipoff (also won by Mason) to the final seconds, when Miles missed on an off-balance putback attempt that could have tied the game.
"I haven't scored that much in a while, so it felt good," Mason said.
"It's fun to come out here. You get to work on things that you don't normally work on. I got a couple jumpers down this time."
There were some moments of sibling rivalry, but Mason always seemed to get the better of it. In the first half, Mason hit a 3-pointer, so Miles attempted one on the ensuing possession, only to have it carom off the backboard. Then, Miles couldn't quite reach an alley-oop pass to start the second half, and Mason rose high to covert an alley-oop on the other end.
Mason outscored his brother 21-4 after halftime. Though Miles wasn't happy with the outcome, he was thrilled to see his brother's progress.
"He's just playing a lot stronger than he has been all summer," Miles said. "Playing through contact and finishing around the bucket. And trying not to pass too much is big for him because sometimes he's not assertive enough."
Mason, who averaged 7.2 points and 8.4 rebounds last season, is expected to have an expanded role for the Blue Devils this year. In order to take advantage, Mason said he wants to be a more reliable scorer and a more dependable rebounder.
"I feel like I had spurts last season where I rebounded really well, but all in all, I ended up averaging 7 or 8 boards. I need to do better than that," Mason said. "I think everything just has to be taken to a whole other level."
For now, Mason will settle for bragging rights over his older brother.
"If he wants it, he can have it," Miles said. "We'll be back to practice in just a few days. That's about how long that will last."
