Duke builds to fast finish

DURHAM -- After watching his team lollygag through a botched inbounds play after the first official timeout of Monday's 90-63 win against UNC Greensboro, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski immediately called for another timeout.

Once his players huddled around, it was hard to see through the maze of people and know exactly what Krzyzewski was saying or doing. Judging by the red face and the animated motions that peeked through every now and again, it seems he wasn't wishing his team a happy holidays.

"He was especially mad," Mason Plumlee said. "He didn't want to come in coaching energy and effort our 10th of the season or our 11th game. He had a right to be. That's on us to bring energy."

No. 7 Duke (10-1) eventually showed enough life to pull away from the Spartans (2-10), using a 29-8 run in the second half to post a convincing win. Mason Plumlee led the way with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Austin Rivers and Quinn Cook each had 14 points.

Yet it was clear the Blue Devils weren't their sharpest as they played for the first time since an 86-80 win Dec. 10 against Washington.

Since then, Duke's players had an academically rigorous stretch with the semester concluding.

Ryan Kelly (calf) and Seth Curry (ankle) missed practice time with ailments.

"I was not very pleased with our team," Krzyzewski said. "You can make all kinds excuses - there just are no excuses. The person that makes excuses is looking for something easy."

With former North Carolina player Wes Miller coaching his second game for the Spartans, UNC Greensboro repeatedly beat Duke down the court for layups and dunks in the first half. The Spartans also seemed to get their hands on the majority of loose balls.

During one sequence, Krzyzewski noticed his players were following the opponent they were guarding across the court rather than staying in the center of the court in transition.

"You don't cross," Krzyzewski said. "We were crossing, trying to get our men. That shows a little bit of, 'Whoa, you're brain dead.' I can't even remember the last time we were doing it. You don't do that."

During halftime, Krzyzewski challenged his players to head to the holiday break off a win they could be proud of.

And Duke was encouraged with the way it played in the second half.

Cook, in particular, played well, darting to the basket for a number of nifty layups. The freshman point guard had a big hand in the big run in the second half, scoring one basket on a drive that made the score 66-42.

All of his career-high 14 points came after halftime.

"It's given me some confidence," said Cook, who dealt with knee troubles earlier in the season. "Because after my injury, that's the hardest part is getting my confidence back and feeling like my old self."

Cook said he doesn't quite feel like his old self yet, although he hopes Monday was a step in that direction.

Although few of his teammates would say the same thing about the win, Duke at least had a sense of heading to the holidays off a strong half.

"We didn't come out the way we should have, but we picked it up, and it was a good win for us," Dawkins said.

Percentages: FG .407, FT .500. Three-point goals: 4-13, .308 (Randall 2-4, Parker 1-1, Armstrong 1-3, Williams 0-1, Simpson 0-2, Van Dussen 0-2). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 1 (Williams). Turnovers: 14 (Williams 5, Van Dussen 3, Parker 2, Hoffer, Paulos, Simpson). Steals: 10 (Williams 4, Armstrong 2, Van Dussen 2, Robinson, Parker). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .537, FT .688. Three-point goals: 10-21, .476 (Dawkins 3-5, Cook 2-3, Rivers 2-5, Kelly 1-2, Thornton 1-2, Curry 1-4). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 5 (Kelly 2, Mas. Plumlee 2, Mi. Plumlee). Turnovers: 18 (Curry 4, Mi. Plumlee 2, Dawkins 2, Rivers 2, Cook 2, Mas. Plumlee 2, Zafirovski, Thornton, Hairston, Kelly). Steals: 8 (Curry 4, Thornton 2, Cook, Kelly). Technical Fouls: None.

Att.-9,314.