Exams-weary Duke needed 13 minutes to find its footing Monday night, but it gained traction behind 3-point shooting to down UNC Greensboro at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The seventh-ranked Blue Devils won 90-63, playing their first game in eight days because of first-semester finals. Duke carried a 66-42 lead into the final 10:22 after having a fight on its hands for most of the first half.
Although Duke was firmly in control after halftime, coach Mike Krzyzewski found his team's effort lacking.
"I'm not sure when we had our attention," Krzyzewski said. "I was not very pleased with our team. You can make all kind of excuses. There just are no excuses.
"A person who makes excuses is looking for something easy. People are going to come after us hard. We can't gauge how well we're supposed to play each night before we play. We've got to go out and play."
UNCG twice led by five points early by taking advantage of Duke's turnovers and missed shots. Once Duke's outside shooters found the range in the final 5:38 of the first half, UNCG's threat was over.
Duke made only five of its first 15 shots. It made seven of its last 10 of the half, and five were 3-point baskets, including a game-changing barrage of three-straight 3-pointers beginning with 3:33 left.
Duke's lead was 30-28 when the surge started. Austin Rivers hit the first 3-pointer, and Andre Dawkins nailed the second. After a missed UNCG free throw, Rivers hit another 3-pointer from just right of the top of the key.
Duke settled for a 45-34 halftime lead after the 76-second outburst, but it steadily built the margin after halftime despite reappearances of ragged play.
Duke improved to 10-1 and UNCG fell to 2-10. UNCG was playing its second game under Wes Miller, its interim coach who took over on Dec. 13 when Mike Dement stepped down after a 2-8 record.
Krzyzewski notched the 910th win of his career. Miller is still looking for his first victory. Duke won its 41st consecutive home game to match the second-longest home winning streak in school history.
"I said this after we played ECU Friday night, but I'll say it again: I'm just tremendously proud of our guys," Miller said. "This has been a really, really tough week and a half on them. It's been tough on them to go through this."
Mason Plumlee led Duke with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Rivers and Quinn Cook added 14 points each. Cook scored all of his points after halftime in hitting six shots in six attempts. Miles Plumlee contributed 13 rebounds but did not score.
Kyle Randall led UNCG with 12 points off the bench.
Krzyzewski said he saw his players make wrong decisions in many situations. He described some of his team's play as "brain dead." Duke committed 18 turnovers, one shy of matching its season high set in the season opener.
UNCG was responsible for many of Duke's woes in Krzyzewski's judgment.
"In the first half, they just beat us down the court," Krzyzewski said. "We didn't talk (on defense). I thought we were weak with the ball and they were strong. They were trying to knock the ball away and we weren't strong with our passes."
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