Grayson Allen's best game this season leads Duke past North Carolina

Grayson Allen scored 25 points, his most since his suspension, in Duke’s victory over rival North Carolina. (Getty)

In recent Duke games, there had been glimpses of the Grayson Allen of old; a dynamic drive here, a 3-pointer there. Those glimpses were precursors for Thursday night.

Allen scored 25 points against No. 8 North Carolina to make No. 18 Duke’s biggest game of the season its biggest win of the season, an 86-78 victory over the Tar Heels.

Jayson Tatum also allowed the Blue Devils to pull out the win in a tight second half. The fab freshman, in his first game in the rivalry, went scoreless in the first half, but powered his way to 19 brilliant second-half points to hold off North Carolina.

Luke Kennard dropped an additional 20 points in his first win over the Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium. He and Allen embraced after the final horn as Cameron Crazies and Duke fans young and old lingered to celebrate.

It was easily Allen’s best performance since he was suspended one game by coach Mike Krzyzewski for his third trip in less than a year. In the weeks that followed, Allen was dogged by controversy and poor play, the two feeding into each other. But he had averaged over 20 points per game in wins over Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, and had his best performance yet Thursday night.

Allen had in part been plagued by increased responsibilities at point guard, responsibilities he wasn’t accustomed to handling. Against Carolina, though, he was just a scorer, regardless of position. He hit seven of his 12 3-pointers, and seven of Duke’s 13 on the night, a big reason the Blue Devils were able to outlast the Tar Heels.

Allen started the game in rhythm. His first two 3-point attempts found the bottom of the net. He was momentarily neutralized by 6-foot-8 wing Justin Jackson when North Carolina went to a big lineup, but got back on track soon thereafter. He scored 11 points in the first 11 minutes as Duke’s offense picked up after a few early wobbles.

Allen was a big part of an 8-0 Blue Devil run out of the under-12 timeout that reversed Carolina’s early lead. Duke got out in transition to find open jumpers for both him and Frank Jackson. Jackson’s 2-pointer from the baseline completed the run, which turned a 19-14 deficit into a 22-19 lead.

The latter 10 minutes of the first half were as even as can be. North Carolina got piecemeal contributions from a five-man guard rotation. Its frontcourt, without the injured Isaiah Hicks, was good but not great. Duke’s front line, which has had trouble protecting the rim in ACC play, kept Kennedy Meeks, Luke Maye and Tony Bradley in check. The Tar Heels had just three offensive rebounds and four second-chance points in the first half.

The visitors, however, got the offense they needed from Justin Jackson. Jackson had 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He was the only North Carolina player with more than five points over the first 20 minutes, and put the Tar Heels up 38-35 with two jumpers late in the half.

Allen, though, who also had 14 first-half points, had the final say before the break. He hit this step-back 3-pointer on the final possession of the period despite Theo Pinson’s hounding defense:

TREYSON ALL3N pic.twitter.com/gU2Ct95Y9J

— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) February 10, 2017

Carolina fans, of course, argued fervently that Allen pushed off on the step back, but nonetheless, the Blue Devils took a one-point lead into halftime.

Duke hit six first-half 3s, and picked up where it left off in the second. It answered Carolina 2s with 3s of its own. Luke Kennard, who had 10 points in the first half, hit two triples, and Allen followed them up with his fifth of the game to put Duke up 51-43.

A few plays later, Jayson Tatum put Meeks on a poster, and put himself on nightly highlight reels all over the country:

Jayson Tatum caught Kennedy Meeks pic.twitter.com/wR8r5HefQI

— Rob Dauster (@RobDauster) February 10, 2017

The dunk got Tatum going too. After a scoreless first half, the ultra-talented freshman poured in seven quick points, including a 3 that restored Duke’s seven-point lead.

North Carolina, though, found its offensive groove. Meeks began to have his way inside, and Joel Berry, who had been quiet, drilled his first 3 of the game.

Minutes later, after a Carolina defensive rebound that almost went astray turned into a fast break, Justin Jackson drove from the right corner to the front of the rim and put UNC back into the lead, 60-59. Berry’s 3 from that same corner coming out of a timeout extended the lead to four, and made it an 11-1 Carolina run. The Tar Heels made eight consecutive field goal attempts after making just two of their first eight in the half.

Duke’s answer came from Allen, who hit his sixth 3 of the game, and from Tatum, who skied toward the Cameron rafters for a rebound, then went coast to coast to sneak in a layup. He would get to the rim on the very next possession too to tie the score at 66.

Allen, though, was frustrated soon after. He picked up his fourth foul with 8:35 to play, and jumped up and down, stomping his feet in annoyance.

Duke matched Carolina with Allen out, though. Tatum’s two free throws made the score 70-70, the ninth tie of the game to accompany 16 lead changes.

With Allen still out of the game, Tatum scored his 15th, 16th and 17th points of the second-half with a high-arching triple that put the home team up 75-71. Allen then returned to hurtle to the rim for an athletic dunk, swinging on the rim just a bit for good measure, to push the lead to six.

As if required by rivalry rules, though, Carolina stormed back. Jackson hit a 3. Berry got a steal, and got to the free throw line. But Allen, once again, had the answer. He pulled up off the dribble and splashed a 3, his seventh of the game, to give Duke a five-point lead inside two minutes.

Allen fouled out on the following possession, but Duke was able to hold on with rebounds and free throws down the stretch.

Justin Jackson finished with 21 points for North Carolina. Berry added 15. The most important stat of the game, though, was Duke’s rebounding. The Blue Devils held a Tar Heel team that reels in 42 percent of its misses to an offensive rebounding percentage of just 22.6.

Duke improves to 19-5 on the season with the win, while North Carolina, which came into the night atop the ACC, falls to 21-5, and into a first-place tie with Florida State.

The rematch between the two rivals will have to wait until the last weekend of the regular season, Saturday, March 4 in Chapel Hill.