Fifth-ranked Duke gave Coach Mike Krzyzewski a well-received 64th birthday present Sunday with an 81-71 victory against Miami before a sellout crowd of 7,972 at the BankUnited Center.
Guard Seth Curry put a bow around it with his second straight impressive performance.
Curry scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half to put Duke in position to win as leading scorer Nolan Smith missed more than eight minutes after being hit in the eye.
The Blue Devils trailed 26-25 when Smith left and closed the half with a 9-0 run for a 42-37 lead.
"Seth would get player of the game," Krzyzewski said. "He not only shot the ball well for the second straight game, but he also had five steals and four rebounds and played 39 minutes."
Smith returned to score 16 of his 18 points in the second half and give the Blue Devils separation.
"I was worried when I didn't see Nolan on the bench," Krzyzewski said. "I thought, 'It must be something serious.' " He collected himself at halftime and led a couple of runs in the second half to give us separation."
Curry is gaining confidence as a third option, something Duke has been missing since Kyrie Irving's injury.
"The Carolina game really gave my confidence a boost," Curry said. "I have been working extra hard in practice on my shooting. I didn't realize Nolan was hurt for a few minutes, but I'm glad that I was able to help us win."
It was the fourth straight victory for the Blue Devils (23-2, 10-1) and snapped a three-game win streak for Miami (15-10, 4-7).
"The second 9-0 run was the difference in the game," Miami coach Frank Haith said. "When Smith got going, he played like the player that he is."
Duke led 52-51 with 14:04 left, and its defense held the 'Canes scoreless as the lead exploded to 61-51 with Smith scoring seven of the nine points. For the game, the defense forced 13 turnovers that turned into 18 points.
"I couldn't see right after the injury," Smith said, "but it got better. I hit a couple of shots and got a couple of good penetrations. Seth did a great job. It was his second good game in a row. He is becoming a threat."
Krzyzewski felt that Smith, Irving and Kyle Singler gave the Blue Devils the best perimeter players in the country at the start of the season.
"Since Kyrie's injury, we have been searching for an effective third perimeter option," Krzyzewski said. "Seth has been that and more in the last two games, but we are still developing.
"Our bigs are another element of our team. They played very well tonight and have done a good job most of the season."
Krzyzewski didn't seem surprised by the development of Curry.
"He is only the third transfer that we've had," Krzyzewski said. "It took (Dahntay) Jones and (Roshown) McLeod some time after not playing for a year, and I don't think Seth is any different."
Krzyzewski said Curry's emergence takes pressure off Smith and makes him more flexible and dangerous.
"With Seth playing the way he is," Krzyzewski said, "Nolan can play off the ball some. It will make him fresher than when he has to zigzag bringing the ball up."
Coming into the game, Krzyzewski warned his team about a letdown after the emotional comeback vs. North Carolina.
"He told us how good Miami was," Ryan Kelly said, "and he was right. We put the Carolina game in our rearview mirror and didn't follow it with a bad game or a loss.
"Coach told us that championship-caliber teams don't have letdowns after big wins, and we didn't."
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