Kon Knueppel scored 28 points as No. 1 Duke overcame injuries to star Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown to beat Georgia Tech on Thursday, 78-70, and advance to the ACC Tournament semifinals.
Isaiah Evans scored 14 points on four 3-pointers and Khaman Maluach added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Blue Devils (29-3), who have won nine straight.
Flagg appeared to land awkwardly on Baye Ndongo’s foot as he came down with a rebound late in the first half. The ACC player of the year retreated to the Duke bench and punched a seat in frustration. After being helped to the locker room, Flagg returned to the Duke bench in the second half without a boot on his foot. He did not return to the game.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer says it’s “a real long shot” that the injured Flagg will be able to play in the semifinals.
Brown went down with a shoulder injury in the first half.
Duncan Powell led Georgia Tech (17-16) with 24 points.
Duke missed its first 13 shots from beyond the arc and fell behind 26-12, matching the season’s largest deficit. They trailed 26-17 when Flagg left the game, but cut the lead to five at halftime. Duke pushed its lead to seven early in the second half when Tyrese Proctor stole a pass and delivered a high-flying one-handed dunk in transition.
Takeaways
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets bench was outscored 21-6.
Duke: The Blue Devils showed they have some firepower without Flagg and Brown on the court. After missing its first 13 3s, Duke went 7 of 17 the rest of the way.
Key moment
Knueppel drove, scored and drew a foul for a 3-point play with about five minutes left in the game to put Duke up by 11.
Key stat
Georgia Tech was outscored 28-12 to start the second half.
Up next
Georgia Tech can hope for an NIT bid. Duke will face the North Carolina/Wake Forest winner on Friday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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