DURHAM -- From Ryan Kelly's free throws against Georgia Tech to the frantic end-of-game sequence against Virginia to Andre Dawkins' jumpers against Clemson, just about every play meant something in Duke's previous ACC games.
That wasn't the case in the Blue Devils' 91-73 win over Wake Forest on Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Using strong outings by Dawkins and Austin Rivers as springboards, the fourth-ranked Blue Devils (16-2, 4-0) walloped the Deacons, building a commanding 20-point lead early in the second half to cruise to its most lopsided victory in three weeks.
"The last couple games have been too close - just a few possessions away from them being three losses instead of three wins," Miles Plumlee said. "We recognize that. Duke teams in the past - when you're supposed to beat a team, you beat a team, and it's not going to be close."
"We need to start doing that more often."
Inserted into the starting lineup ahead of Rivers, Dawkins hit seven 3-pointers in the first half. He attempted only one shot after halftime, but he still finished with 21 points. The effort came four days after Dawkins had 24 points at Clemson.
Rivers, who said he was "angry" at not starting, followed Dawkins' lead in the second half, scoring 14 points after the break to finish with 20.
Together, Rivers and Dawkins made 10 of the Blue Devils' 11 3-pointers.
"I feel like I'm more focused than I ever have been here at Duke," Dawkins said. "After the Clemson game, all you hear is, 'He's done this before. It's happened before and then comes back and falls off again.' I pay attention to that stuff, and I'm trying to prove people wrong."
Duke shot 54.2 percent from the field and had 17 assists on its 32 field goals.
Wake Forest (10-8, 1-3) only made 18.8 percent of its 3-point attempts.
While the Blue Devils' four previous games all came down to the wire, Duke believes some of the anxiety was self-inflicted.
Maybe the Blue Devils couldn't have done much against Temple, which was the better team in its five-point victory on Jan. 4, but Duke had double-digit leads against Georgia Tech, Virginia and Clemson before those teams rallied.
The Blue Devils ended up beating Georgia Tech by seven points, Virginia by three and Clemson by seven.
"It's always good to take a step like this and take a big lead and hold it," said Ryan Kelly, who scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds after he was replaced by Plumlee in the starting lineup.
"We hadn't really done that in our previous three games. They've all been close, but we had opportunities in those games to really stretch the lead and we hadn't. Tonight that we did that is a big step for our team. We're concentrating for longer stretches, especially on the defensive end. That shows the signs of a maturing team."
Wake Forest was somewhat competitive for stretches of the opening half, but Dawkins scored 18 consecutive points for the Blue Devils to knock the Deacons out of commission. When the junior hit a 3-pointer with a little more than 5:03 remaining, Duke had a 34-21 advantage.
The Blue Devils led by double digits the rest of the way.
Duke has won 45 consecutive games at Cameron and has a chance to match the school record when it hosts Florida State on Saturday. With the Seminoles' recent form, it's entirely possible the Blue Devils' enjoyment of a stress-free night at the office will be fleeting.
"We need to have more games like this," Plumlee said.
