Cameron Indoor Stadium inhaled late Thursday night.
Seven seconds later, Duke exhaled.
The Blue Devils withstood Virginia's two potential tying shots on the last trip down the floor and survived 61-58, extending their home winning streak to 44 games.
Few things came easily. No. 8 Duke missed 11 of 19 foul shots, helping the No. 16 Cavaliers rally from nine points behind in the closing minutes.
On the final possession, Virginia got what it wanted. All-America candidate Mike Scott (23 points) missed a 3-point attempt from the right corner, though, and Jontel Evans' rushed 3-point attempt went awry as time expired.
Duke's second-half defense against Scott made the biggest difference. He burned the Blue Devils for 16 points in the first half.
"We didn't think Scott could beat us by himself, but he was doing a good job of it for a while," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
Trailing 32-28, Krzyzewski spent much of halftime emphasizing aggressive defense against Scott.
Mason Plumlee, who led Duke with 12 points, and older brother Miles alternated on Scott the second half. It worked.
"That was a heck of a half for the Plumlee guys," Krzyzewski said.
Scott got fewer midrange attempts and converted just 3 of 9 shots in the second half, the slack taken up somewhat by Joe Harris (14 points).
"Looking at our team," Miles Plumlee said, "out defense isn't where it needs to be. That's part of the culture of Duke, our defense, and why we've been great teams. We can't be one of the worst defensive teams in the league and be a great team at the end of the year. I think this is a step in the right direction."
Austin Rivers and Seth Curry scored 11 points each for Duke. Andre Dawkins scored 10 while playing what Krzyzewski called the best defense of his career.
Virginia (14-2, 1-1 ACC) lost for the 15th straight time at Cameron.
The Blue Devils (14-2, 2-0 ACC) took only 10 2-point shots in the first half and 13 3-pointers. They ran different offensive sets in the second half, pounding the ball inside right after the break.
The results: 61-percent accuracy in the second half and 52 percent overall, compared to Virginia's 39 percent.
Entering the game, No. 16 Virginia had allowed the second-fewest points in Division I, 50.5.
The Blue Devils will travel to Clemson on Sunday and play home games next week against Wake Forest and Florida State.
Those teams have one thing in common: no Mike Scott.
"He's playing as well as any player in the country," Krzyzewski said, still sweating but back to breathing normally.
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