ATLANTA _ Pushed by a team with a mediocre record that was nevertheless full of confidence, No. 2 Duke rode stingy defense late to survive an ACC road test.
After seeing an 11-point halftime lead disappear to trail with just over six minutes left, Duke stayed steady down the stretch to outlast Georgia Tech, 73-64, at McCamish Pavilion.
Duke (14-1, 4-0 ACC) extended its winning streak to eight consecutive games as sophomore Tre Jones scored a team-best 16 points.Freshmen Cassius Stanley and Vernon Carey added 14 points each while fellow freshman Matthew Hurt scored 11 points.
Georgia Tech (7-8, 2-3 ACC), having won 96-83 at North Carolina on Saturday, received 18 points from Jose Alvarado. James Banks scored 14 points with 15 rebounds and Moses Wright scored 12 points with 10 rebounds.
The Blue Devils shot 53% in the first half to build a 40-29 halftime lead. Duke still led 50-42 with 14:19 to play when its offense went ice cold.
While Duke was going eight consecutive possessions without a point, Georgia Tech reeled off 11 consecutive points to take a 53-50 lead. Duke missed five shots and committed three turnovers during that stretch. Jones also missed two free throws.
Georgia Tech drilled its first four 3-pointers of the second half, including three in row to start its 11-0 run. Michael Devoe's 3-pointer with 12:12 to play put Georgia Tech up 51-50, its first lead of the second half.
Duke responded with authority, especially Stanley. His dunk off a Jones pass in transition ended Duke's scoring drought. He was also fouled and added a free throw to tie the game at 53.
His dunk on another pass from Jones put Duke up 60-59 with 6:28 to play.
With Duke leading 63-62, Stanley's drive through the lane in a half-court set resulted in a Devoe foul. Stanley made the first free throw and missed the second. Carey grabbed the rebound and scored putting Duke in front 66-62 with 3:29 to play.
Duke hit five free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski replaced Carey during a break in play while Duke was on defense with two minutes remaining. Senior Javin DeLaurier replaced him and Georgia Tech, trailing 68-64, immediately went after him by getting the ball to Wright. But DeLaurier blocked his shot. Though Wright grabbed the rebound, DeLaurier forced him into another missed shot. James Banks rebounded but missed a shot before Jones secured the rebound for Duke with 1:47 to play. DeLaurier's two free throws with 55.9 seconds to play extended Duke's lead to 70-64.
Georgia Tech managed to win the rebounding battle against Duke in the first half, grabbing 18 boards to the Blue Devils 15. Only one previous team has won the rebounding battle for an entire game against Duke this season. Kansas, in Duke's season-opening 68-66 win on Nov. 5, had 40 rebounds to Duke's 30. The Blue Devils entered Wednesday night having grabbed 10.5 more rebounds per game than their opponents, the fifth-best rebounding margin in the country. But Georgia Tech won the rebounding battle 39-30.
