DURHAM
Duke struggled for one half last night with Kyrie Irving sitting on the bench because of a serious foot injury, but blew past Bradley after halftime to hand Coach Mike Krzyzewski a milestone coaching victory.
Behind a barrage of 3-point shots at the start of the second half, Duke cruised 83-48 for the 877th win of Krzyzewski’s career to move him to No. 3 all-time in wins among major-college coaches.
The win was tempered, though, by the injury to the big toe on Irving’s right foot, suffered last Saturday in a win over Butler.
Irving wore a protective boot to walk to the Duke bench last night.
“Kyrie’s injury is a serious one,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s being evaluated by our medical team here at Duke and with medical people from different parts of the country who are experts in foot injuries.
“Some type of analysis should be done by a week to 10 days. Then a course of action will be taken on that analysis. He could be out for a long time.”
Krzyzewski said that any decision that will be made will be in the interests of Irving’s career. Irving, a point guard, has been one of the top freshmen in the country, averaging 17.4 points and handing out 41 assists.
Krzyzewski said Duke’s medical staff is still gathering information, but there is at least a chance that Irving might be out for the season.
“He could be,” Krzyzewski said.
Krzyzewski passed the late Adolph Rupp of Kentucky, who had 876 wins, to move into third place. The win certainly meant something to the Blue Devils, according to Nolan Smith, who played point guard in Irving’s absence.
“It’s big; we always know every game that he’s going for something great,” Smith said. “This was the next big win for him. It’s just a huge privilege for us to be a part of him moving up.”
The Blue Devils went on a 16-4 run in the first five minutes after halftime to forge a 48-22 lead. The last nine points for the Blue Devils in the run came on three consecutive 3-pointers by Kyle Singler, Ryan Kelly and Seth Curry.
The lead reached 56-27 a little more than two minutes later, with the help of two more 3-pointers, another by Curry and another by Singler.
Duke made six of its first seven 3-point attempts in the second half and nailed nine of its first 11, taking a 71-36 lead with 6:52 left.
Top-ranked Duke improved to 9-0. Bradley played without three starters and fell to 4-5.
Sophomore guard Andre Dawkins led the Blue Devils with a career-high 28 points. He made eight 3-point shots in 14 attempts, in making his first start of the season.
“Not to feel arrogant, but I always feel my shot is on,” Dawkins said. “I just got a lot of open looks tonight. I was just able to knock them down.
“If I get an open shot, I’m going to take it.”
Singler added 17 points for Duke and Miles Plumlee, back in the starting lineup, added 14 points. Plumlee made all seven of his shots from the field.
Walt Lemon Jr. led the Braves with 14 points and Will Egolf added 11.
Duke led 32-18 at halftime. A late run gave Duke the 14-point advantage after Bradley sliced the lead to 24-17 with 3:28 left in the half.
The 32 points were the Blue Devils’ lowest in a half this season. Duke scored only six points on fast breaks in the half.
Smith said the players could feel a difference in the tempo without Irving running the break.
“It was slow,” Smith said. “Kyrie does a good job helping us get more points because he always has the defense on its toes.
“That’s just our luck. With me and him out there at the same time, you have two guards zooming at you. Now, it’s just me.”
bcole@wsjournal.com
BRADLEY — Prosser 0-4 3-4 3, Egolf 5-12 1-2 11, Dunson 4-14 0-2 8, Warren 3-9 0-0 7, Lemon 6-14 0-0 14, Woods 0-0 0-0 0, Eastman 1-2 0-0 2, Knezevic 1-2 0-0 3, Thompson 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 20-61 4-8 48.
DUKE — Ma. Plumlee 1-2 0-0 2, Singler 5-10 3-3 17, Mi. Plumlee 7-7 0-0 14, Smith 0-8 2-4 2, Dawkins 10-17 0-0 28, Thornton 0-1 0-0 0, Hairston 2-5 0-0 4, Curry 3-7 0-0 8, Kelly 2-3 3-3 8. Totals 30-60 8-10 83.
Halftime—Duke 32-18. 3-Point Goals—Bradley 4-13 (Lemon 2-4, Knezevic 1-2, Warren 1-3, Dunson 0-4), Duke 15-33 (Dawkins 8-14, Singler 4-9, Curry 2-4, Kelly 1-1, Thornton 0-1, Smith 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Bradley 36 (Dunson, Prosser 6), Duke 37 (Ma. Plumlee 7). Assists—Bradley 10 (Dunson 3), Duke 22 (Smith 10). Total Fouls—Bradley 13, Duke 13. A—9,314.
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