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The Court Report: An Analysis By Jim Young

CHAPEL HILL -- As it has all season when faced with an obstacle, Duke found a way a way around it. North Carolina had an obstacle of its own that it just couldn't overcome.

With its best player forced to play the final 16 minutes with four fouls, with UNC's Tyler Hansbrough playing at his usual all-world best and with a hostile Smith Center out for blood, the Blue Devils still managed to engineer an 89-78 win Wednesday.

"You find different ways," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "Because we have versatile players, we've been able to do that thus far."

As for UNC (21-2 overall, 6-2 ACC) it couldn't cope with the loss of its starting point guard, Ty Lawson, who sat out the game with a sprained ankle.

"Certainly you'd want to have the quickest point guard in the country playing," Krzyzewski said. "That's got to hurt them."

Lawson drew a loud ovation when he came out for the shoot-around about an hour before the game. After about five minutes of light shooting, he jogged off the floor with the rest of the team. Shortly after, though, it was announced that Lawson would not play.

"It was really an easy decision," said UNC coach Roy Williams. "He came to me and said, 'I don't know. It doesn't feel good.' I said, 'Then you're not going to play.' "

Though Lawson's backups, Quentin Thomas and Marcus Ginyard did a passable job at times, the absence of Lawson was noticeable in the Tar Heels' lack of fast break points. UNC's 20 turnovers were more evidence of how much Lawson was missed. Also, not having Lawson also forced Roy Williams to make changes in his rotations that occasionally resulted in the sort of matchup problems that Duke specializes in exploiting.

Still, a frenzied home crowd seemed to give the Tar Heels an early lift, and they sprinted out to a five-point lead. Unfazed, Duke (20-1, 8-0) recovered and grabbed the lead by relying on its most dangerous weapon, the 3-pointer. The Blue Devils hit four 3-pointers in a two-minute span to go from an 18-15 deficit to a 27-20 advantage. The lead would not change hands again.

Not that it didn't get dicey at times for the Blue Devils. A cold stretch at the end of the first half cost Duke much of an 11-point lead. Then, with over 16 minutes remaining and UNC within two at 53-51, DeMarcus Nelson picked up his fourth foul.

What could have been disaster for Duke instead turned into the start of a strong defensive stretch for the Blue Devils. UNC went scoreless for the next 41/2 minutes, allowing Duke to stretch its lead again and get its bearings.

"It just seemed right when it was going to turn, one of our guys made a play," Krzyzewsi said.

It could have turned when Duke went cold from behind the arc, missing five straight 3-point attempts midway through the second half. Instead, the Blue Devils responded by attacking the basket, getting crucial points from Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer and even Lance Thomas.

"I thought it was Lance's best game," Krzyzewski said.

While Duke was getting contributions from multiple sources, the Tar Heels were leaning heavily on Hansbrough. At times Williams complained that his team became Hansbrough and four other players just watching. Still, it looked like that might be enough for the Tar Heels. Hansbrough's relentless effort led to 28 points and 18 rebounds.

Hansbrough's usual scoring sidekick though, Wayne Ellington wasn't his usual self. Ellington scored eight points on three-of-14 shooting. He missed all six of his 3-point attempts. UNC's other outside shooter, Danny Green, made one of 10 shots, including one of five from 3-point range.

"You've got to shoot the ball well on game day or you're not as good a shooter as everyone says you are," Williams said.

At the halfway point in league play, there are still many obstacles left for this Duke team, but for one night at least, Krzyzewski could appreciate what his unconventional team has accomplished thus far.

"They're pretty special right now for me," he said.

Contact Jim Young at 373-7016 or jim.young@news-record.com

The Numbers

DUKE (20-1, 8-0)

Fg Ft Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Singler 37 5-11 1-2 2-10 2 3 14

Thomas 25 5-7 0-2 2-5 0 4 10

Henderson 29 5-10 2-6 3-7 3 3 12

Nelson 23 3-9 6-7 1-4 5 4 13

Paulus 31 6-9 0-2 0-3 3 4 18

Scheyer 33 4-11 7-8 2-6 3 1 17

Smith 13 2-5 0-0 0-0 0 3 5

McClure 7 0-2 0-0 1-2 0 2 0

King 2 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 200 30-66 16-27 11-38 16 24 89

Percentages: FG .455, FT .593.

3-point goals: 13-29, .448 (Paulus 6-8, Singler 3-6, Scheyer 2-4, Nelson 1-3, Smith 1-4, King 0-2, Henderson 0-2).

Team rebounds: 1.

Blocked shots: 6 (Henderson 2, Singler 2, Thomas 2).

Turnovers: 15 (Nelson 4, Paulus 3, Singler 2, Smith 2, Thomas, Scheyer, McClure, Henderson).

Steals: 11 (Paulus 4, Scheyer 3, Singler 2, Smith, Nelson).

NORTH CAROLINA (21-2, 6-2)

Fg Ft Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Thompson 18 5-6 2-3 3-5 0 5 12

Hansbrough 38 12-21 4-9 5-18 0 4 28

Ginyard 33 3-10 8-8 3-5 3 1 16

Ellington 34 3-14 2-2 2-5 2 4 8

Thomas 35 4-8 2-4 0-3 7 4 10

Green 23 1-10 0-0 2-3 4 3 3

Stepheson 13 0-0 0-2 2-4 0 2 0

Graves 6 0-0 1-2 1-1 1 3 1

Totals 200 28-69 19-30 20-49 17 26 78

Percentages: FG .406, FT .633.

3-point goals: 3-17, .176 (Ginyard 2-4, Green 1-5, Thomas 0-2, Ellington 0-6).

Team rebounds: 5.

Blocked shots: 4 (Stepheson 2, Thompson, Green).

Turnovers: 20 (Thomas 6, Stepheson 5, Hansbrough 3, Ellington 2, Ginyard 2, Thompson, Green).

Steals: 3 (Ginyard, Ellington, Green).

Duke 42 47 -- 89

North Carolina 39 39 -- 78

A--21,750.

Officials--Jamie Luckie, Tony Greene, Les Jones.