No. 2 Duke withstood a first-half injury to star freshman Cooper Flagg in a blowout of Florida State, 100-65, on Saturday night in Durham, N.C.
Isaiah Evans poured in 19 points and Flagg, despite missing most of the first half, ended up with 16 points for Duke (26-3, 17-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference), which holds a one-game lead over Clemson in the league standings. Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach each added 14 points.
Jamir Watkins had 13 of his 21 points in the second half and reserve Jerry Deng posted 12 points for Florida State (16-13, 7-11), which lost its third straight game.
Flagg, who ended with about 18 minutes of playing time, was struck on the face as he drove down the left side of the lane in the first half. A trainer tended to an apparent cut on his face.
Flagg played slightly more than seven minutes in the first half, scoring four points. He missed the last 11:27 of the half.
But he was on the court to begin the second half, and during a sequence about four minutes into it, Flagg blocked a shot that led to a breakout and Knueppel converting on a three-point play.
During his time off the court, Flagg left the gym twice for apparent evaluation from the training staff. He was on the bench for the final few minutes before halftime.
Duke led 47-30 at halftime, with Evans, Knueppel and reserve Mason Gillis all pouring in nine points.
The game dragged at times after halftime, with 19 total fouls called in the first nine minutes of the second half.
Duke shot 38.1 percent from the floor in the opening half, but hit five 3-pointers and was 10-for-13 mark on free throws. The Blue Devils had 12 assists on its 16 first-half baskets, holding a 10-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
This was the only meeting of the season between the teams. It marked the final visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium as coach for retiring Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton, who was honored in a brief pregame ceremony.
–Field Level Media
