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| Duke's stifling defense aside, Kyle Anderson recorded his fifth double-double of the season on Thursday (photo by Ben Solomon) |
NEW YORK - UCLA matched Duke's pace but ultimately couldn't equal the Blue Devils' poise in an 80-63 defeat at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
No. 8 Duke started the second half on a 23-12 run to break up what was a tie game and then held on to beat the Bruins (9-2), who started the week ranked 22nd in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
It was an up-tempo game - which UCLA typically favors - that got away from the Bruins after Duke executed in key moments and took advantage of a young UCLA team's impatience.
"In the second half I thought Duke did a really good job of cranking things up and we didn't handle it very well," UCLA coach Steve Alford said. "We didn't get that run that we usually get and then we got a little impatient. That's what young teams do. When you feel the heat you get a little impatient and then (Duke) got into us a little bit more."
UCLA's quick-trigger offense, which entered the night ranked third in the nation at nearly 90 points per game, ultimately faltered and the Bruins shot 40 percent from the floor after making just 10-of-29 shots over the final 20 minutes. UCLA also had 13 turnovers, seemingly all coming at the most inopportune times.
"I think we have a really high ceiling because we are talented, but there's just a lot of inexperience," Alford said. "When you face a really good team like Duke, they're going to be able to take some strengths away from you. When that happens, we've got to do a better job in half court and we need to improve on that. We've been able to not have to work in half court for the most part so far. Now we've got to do a better job of, when it becomes a half-court game, be able to execute a half-court offense. That's a process."
Star freshman Jabari Parker was the closer for Duke (9-2). Parker scored 11 of his 23 points in the second half and followed up a timely 3-pointer with a thunderous dunk that put the Blue Devils up by double digits and brought the nearly all-Duke crowd to its feet with just over 12 minutes to play. That effort was aided by sophomore Rodney Hood, who hit two 3-pointers in a one-minute stretch and finished with 14 points.
As UCLA fought to remain within striking distance, a turnover turned into a fast-break dunk for Rasheed Sulaimon that put Duke up 63-51 with 8:35 left in the game. UCLA never got closer than eight and then a 3-pointer from Sulaimon put Duke up 74-63 with 1:57 remaining, ending any hopes of a comeback.
Duke shot 48 percent from the field and had 21 assists compared to 12 turnovers.
"Defensively, we just have to get better," said Bruins point guard Kyle Anderson, who scored 15 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had seven assists. "Basketball is a game of runs. They did a good job on defense and that led to offense on the other end and we just didn't do enough of that."
David Wear led UCLA with 16 points and Jordan Adams added 10. It was a frustrating night for Adams, though. The sophomore scorer was held to his lowest point total of the season and it was the first game in which he didn't lead the Bruins in scoring.
"He is a really good player and one of the main things was we pressured the ball better, not necessarily on him, but on the other guys who make passes to him and everyone else who played against them," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "It can knock off your timing a little bit or maybe he just wasn't getting the ball in the places he normally gets it or in the same rhythm."
The two teams traded leads in the first half, with UCLA doing much of its damage on 6-of-10 shooting from 3-point range. Zach LaVine gave the Bruins good energy off the bench and Bryce Alford hit a pair of late 3s to put UCLA up 37-35 in the final minute, but Duke's Andre Dawkins got to the rim and scored with 28 seconds remaining to tie the score 37-37 at halftime.
Duke was the second ranked team UCLA has faced this season and only the third opponent from a non-mid-major conference - Northwestern and Missouri being the other two.
"I think games like this help us," Alford said. "Missouri helped us, this game helped us. It gets the attention of guys and shows them what they have to do to play at this level. This has always been a hard-working group, so I really do think the ceiling is high. The effort's just got to continue."
The Bruins return to action Sunday at home against Weber State. Duke faces Eastern Michigan Dec. 28.
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