Duke lead UNC score 79-73. Smith's Career Night Leads Duke Past UNC 79-73. Nolan Smith scores career-high 34 points to lead No. 5 Duke past No. 20 North Carolina 79-73. Nolan Smith scored 22 of his career-high 34 points in the second half, and No. 5 Duke rallied from 16 points down to beat No. 20 North Carolina 79-73 on Wednesday night.
Seth Curry added a season-high 22 points for the Blue Devils (22-2, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
They trailed 43-27 in the final minute of the first half and were down 14 at halftime before clamping down on the Tar Heels, outscoring them 50-30 in the final 20 minutes to keep hold of first place in the league.
Tyler Zeller had 24 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, and John Henson added 14 points for North Carolina (17-6, 7-2), which had its five-game winning streak snapped and lost for the third straight time in college basketball's fiercest rivalry.
Kyle Singler finished with 10 points on 3-of-17 shooting for Duke, but hit three important free throws in the final minute — including two with 25.2 seconds left to make it 75-70 after North Carolina had made it a one-possession game.
Then, after Kendall Marshall hit a free throw to pull the Tar Heels within four with 17.2 seconds left, Smith beat everybody downcourt and soared for a breakaway dunk that all but ensured the Blue Devils would avoid their first loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium in almost exactly two years. Duke extended its NCAA-best winning streak at home to 33.
The Blue Devils were in the unfamiliar position of being dominated on their home court when their guards got things rolling in the final seconds of the first half, with Curry's jumper at the 5-second mark starting the 18-6 run that made it a game again.
Smith's jumper from the elbow pulled Duke to 49-45 with 14½ minutes left, about 4 minutes before Curry started the 13-1 run that put the Blue Devils up for the first time.
Curry reeled off seven quick points in little over a minute before Ryan Kelly delivered the game's only lead change. His 3-pointer put Duke up 57-55 with 9:15 left, and Smith's three-point play roughly a minute later stretched it to 60-55.
Source: http://abcnews.go.com
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