DURHAM, N.C. _ The Zion Williamson effect is still real at Duke.
Not that the Blue Devils needed the NBA rookie on the court _ they were ahead of Notre Dame when he walked in. But something about his presence changed the energy in the building and the trajectory of the game as the Blue Devils defeated the Irish, 94-60.
Obviously, Williamson had nothing to do with the outcome, that was all Duke, but there's no denying the game took a turn when he walked in.
After a timeout with 16:11 remaining in the second half, Williamson, fresh off playing in the NBA Rising Stars game on Friday night in Chicago, walked into the arena. The crowd went crazy and so did the current Blue Devils. At the time, Duke was up 54-37 and within the blink of an eye, that 17-point lead ballooned to 28.
That had less to do with Williamson and more to do with the fact that suddenly the Blue Devils (22-3, 12-2) couldn't miss from the floor.
Coming out of the timeout, Tre Jones scored on a layup. After consecutive misses from the floor from Duke, the basket was all of a sudden the size of the ocean. Alex O'Connell and Joey Baker hit consecutive 3s. Baker followed his triple with a jumper from inside the key. Vernon Carey Jr. scored on an impressive spin move to push the lead to 22. O'Connell, Baker and Matthew Hurt had their own personal 3-point shootout, hitting three in a row, pushing the lead to 28 before the Irish knew what hit them.
It was the seventh consecutive win for the Blue Devils and their sixth in a row over the Irish (15-10, 6-8).
Duke and Notre Dame played a game of cat and mouse for most of the first half before the Blue Devils got rolling. Duke went on a 9-0 run to go up 10 (29-19) after a 3 from Carey.
The Irish, like they did on several occasions in the first half, got back within single digits, but Duke dug in. Jones pulled up for a 3 on the fast break, and nailed it, giving the Blue Devils a 38-26 advantage. Hurt drove for a layup, followed by a midrange jumper from Jones to give the Blue Devils a 42-32 halftime lead.
The Irish missed out on a chance to take the lead late in the first half. Down by one, 20-19, after going on a 7-0 run of their own, Duke countered with the 9-0 run to take control, finally, after throwing jabs to feel out the Irish. The 3 by Carey, his sixth of the season, seemed to be the first half knockout blow. Even when Notre Dame got back within five, Duke had enough left in the tank to end the half on a 11-6 run.
The Blue Devils missed their first two field-goal attempts to start the second half, but once they got rolling, Notre Dame had no answer.
Carey led Duke with 21 points, Jones had 19, and Hurt finished with 12.
Carey has scored 20 points or more 11 times this season. Saturday was his fourth 20-point game in ACC play.
Duke freshman Cassius Stanley did not play against Notre Dame. Stanley was accidentally hit in the face during warmups and went back to the locker room before the game. He returned to the bench, in uniform, with less than five minutes remaining in the first half. It's the second game Stanley has missed this season.
