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 Parker scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Blue
Devils (21-5, 10-3 ACC) beat Georgia Tech 68-51, beating the Yellow
Jackets for the 31st time in the past 34 meetings. Duke ran its
overall winning streak to four games while earning its ninth victory
in 10 games.
Even more impressive was the Duke defense, which forced 13 turnovers
and converted them into 16 points, and which denied Georgia Tech's
attempts to get the ball in the paint.
"Our plan was to pressure the ball," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski
said. "It's not like we felt we could take the ball away from them.
We thought if they were occupied with our pressure they wouldn't see
the post as much."
The strategy worked. Georgia Tech center Daniel Miller took only
four points and scored just two, nearly eight below his average.
"They came out very focused and played with great force and strength
on the defensive end," Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory said.
"They've really improved defensively since we played them in
January. We weren't able to execute in our area and that put us in a
tough hole."
It didn't help that Parker appeared unstoppable in the first half,
when he scored 10 points. He scored only 12 against Georgia Tech in
the first meeting Jan. 7, a 79-57 Blue Devils win.
"He plays with such aggression that you know what he's going to do
when he gets the ball," Gregory said. "He's going to go, whether he
gets it in the post or on the perimeter. He's strong and he's
explosive."
Duke also got 14 points from forward Rodney Hood, who scored 27 in
the first game against Georgia Tech. Guard Rasheed Sulaimon added 11
points Tuesday.
Georgia Tech (13-13, 4-9 ACC) was led by forward Robert Carter Jr.,
who finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Forward Kammeon
Holsey added 12 points, and guard Chris Bolden scored 10 despite
shooting 2-for-8 from the field.
Duke led comfortably throughout the second half. Georgia Tech made a
rally to cut the lead to 52-40 but could get no closer after Hood
drained his fourth 3-pointer. Parker applied the dagger minutes
later when he blocked a shot and scored on an offensive rebound and
was fouled. Suddenly, after Parker converted the and-one, the lead
was back to 18 points with 9:02 left.
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"They were right in the game," Krzyzewski said. "Then Parker made
that three-point play."
Gregory said, "We made four strong stops. We were just not able to
get over the hump."
It didn't take long for Duke to start rolling. After matching
3-point baskets to start the game, the Blue Devils scored nine
straight and Georgia Tech called a timeout after Parker rolled in a
layup with 16:26 to give Duke a 12-3 lead.
"They went after us on the defensive end and we didn't respond like
we should," Gregory said.
The Yellow Jackets closed the game to four points, only to have Duke
answer with consecutive 3-pointers. The Devils stretched the lead to
10-points on back-to-back baskets by Parker that gave them a 22-12
advantage with 10:17 left in the half. The freshman finished the
first half with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Duke continued to press its advantage and emerged from the media
timeout to go on a 7-2 run, all points coming from guard Quinn Cook,
for a 29-14 lead with 7:27 left. Duke stretched its advantage to 17
at 34-17 and might have done more had it not been for Holsey, who
offset a late Duke push with five of his nine first-half points.
Holsey and Carter, who also scored nine in the first half, kept Tech
from getting blown away. Duke led 43-27 at the break thanks to its
great shooting. The Devils shot 59 percent (17 of 29) and made seven
of 11 3-pointers (64 percent).
Overall, Duke shot 45.3 percent to 39.1 percent for Georgia Tech.
NOTES: Georgia Tech PG Trae Golden, who missed two of the last three
games with a nagging groin injury, did not start but entered the
game at the first break. He finished with two points in 17 minutes.
... Georgia Tech had its first sellout of the year, although Duke
was well-represented in the stands. It was Duke's first appearance
at McCamish Pavilion, which opened last season. ... Duke plays
Thursday against arch-rival North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Georgia
Tech finishes its four-game homestand with a game against Clemson on
Saturday.
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