Duke survives upset bid. 3 takeaways from the Blue Devils’ 72-71 ACC win over Clemson
Tyrese Proctor bailed out No. 12 Duke on a night the Blue Devils did more than enough to lose.
The sophomore’s two free throws with one second left erased Clemson’s final lead and gave the Blue Devils a 72-71 ACC basketball win at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Proctor scored 18 points, teaming with freshman guard Jared McCain (21 points) to help Duke (15-4, 6-2 ACC) overcome rare poor performances by Duke stars Jeremy Roach and Kyle Filipowski, who combined for just 14 points.
Duke won despite shooting 41.2% from the field and making just 21 of 33 free throws.
“I’m just really proud of our guys,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “Their will, you know, their will and their competitive spirit.”
Clemson (13-6, 3-5 ACC) took a 71-70 lead with 7.4 seconds left when PJ Hall, after being fouled by Filipowski, sank two free throws.
But Duke in-bounded the ball and Proctor dribbled up the court and into the lane, where Clemson’s Josh Beadle fouled him as Proctor attempted an off-balance shot.
A 72% free throw shooter this season, Proctor calmly swished both free throws.
“I was just talking myself knowing that, you know, I was gonna make both of them,” Proctor said. “I haven’t been shooting the free throws well this season. I know I’m one of the best free throw shooters in the country, and you just took my time and knocked them both down.”
Clemson’s pass down court toward Hall in the free throw lane was knocked away and time expired.
Hall led Clemson with 19 points while Joe Girard scored 13.
Duke led by as many as 12 points in the first half and held a 36-26 lead in the first two minutes after halftime.
But Clemson, after shooting 29% in the first half, finally found its shooting touch to whittle away and eventually erase Duke’s lead.
After a Hall 3-pointer put Clemson up 57-56 with 7:30 to play, the game saw four ties over the next four minutes.
Clemson took a 69-65 lead when Girard sank a bank shot with 3:04 to play and Hall added two free throws with 2:15 to play. But Girard’s basket was Clemson’s final field goal.
Duke put itself in position to rally with steals on four consecutive possessions — McCain had three of them. His transition layup with 1:28 left cut the Clemson lead to 69-67.
McCain had a chance to put Duke in front but missed a 3-pointer with 52 seconds left.
But, with 24 seconds left, Mark Mitchell deflected a Clemson entry pass to force another turnover. That set the stage for a Filipowski’s basket and free throw with 15.2 seconds to play to put Duke up, 70-69.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Filipowski’s off night
Averaging a team-best 18.2 points and nine rebounds per game, Filipowski looked sluggish and off his game — until his play that gave Duke the lead with 15.2 seconds left, that is.
He finished with nine points, four rebounds and one assist before fouling out. Filipowski made only 2 of 8 shots from the field and even struggled from the free throw line, hitting 5 of 11. On three occasions, he missed both free throws after being fouled while shooting.
It didn’t help that he picked up his fourth foul with 11:52 to play and sat for the next five minutes. He fouled out with 7.4 seconds to play defending Hall as the Tigers ran a play that was designed to isolate Hall on Filipowski.
Filipowski did block four shots for the Blue Devils, so he impacted things positively on defense.
Slow start for Tigers
Clemson entered the game having scored 1.12 points per possession in ACC play. That’s the second best offensive efficiency for any ACC team in league play thus far. Clemson produced 1.03 points per possession against Duke.
But the Tigers shot only 29% in the first half while falling behind by as many as 12 points. Early in the second half, after Clemson missed its first four shots after halftime, it’s points per possession was down to .742.
Still, Duke led by just six points at halftime and was up 36-26 with 18:12 to play.
Clemson heated up from there, eventually coming all the way back to take a 57-56 lead with 7:30 to play on Hall’s 3-pointer.
The Tigers shot 38.3% for the game, hitting 48.3% in the second half. Still, that game total is low against Duke in ACC play this season.
Previously only two teams have failed to shoot at least 40% against Duke in ACC play this season. They were Notre Dame, which hit 39% of its shots in a 67-59 Blue Devils win on Jan. 6, and Pittsburgh, which shot just 32.8% while losing to Duke 75-53 on Jan. 9.
New starting five
For the first time this season, Duke started freshmen guards Caleb Foster and McCain, along with three sophomores — Proctor, Mitchell and Filipowski.
Roach’s health situation caused that alignment. It’s only the second game he’s not been in the starting lineup this season. His other missed game was Jan. 20 when Pitt beat Duke, 80-76, in a game that Mitchell was also sidelined due to injury.
Through the season’s first 19 games, Duke has used six different starting lineups. The most frequent quintet involves Roach, Mitchell, Filipowski, McCain and Foster. The Blue Devils are 7-0 when using that starting lineup, although it was mostly used in December and early January, when Proctor either missed games, or was dealing with the after-effects, of a sprained ankle.
It will be difficult to keep Proctor out of the starting lineup after his heroics against Clemson, not to mention his 24 points in Tuesday night’s win at Louisville.
This story was originally published January 27, 2024 at 6:42 PM.