With the win, Duke, with 24 points from Tyus Jones and 20 points from Quinn Cook, swept the regular season series.
It didn’t look that way for much of the game. The Smith Center was rocking after Marcus Paige drilled a transition three to give the Tar Heels their biggest lead at 49-42 with 14:35 left.
But after that, the Tar Heels went cold, hitting just one of their next six shots, and turning the ball over, time and time again (10 times in the second half). Meanwhile, Duke, with Justice Winslow in foul trouble and Tyus Jones playing with a back injured during the game, took over.
Bench players Matt Jones and Grayson Allen hit consecutive threes that put the Blue Devils ahead 56-51 midway through the second half.
Three times the Tar Heels pulled within a point but if a turnover didn’t spoil the chance to take a lead, a Blue Devil triple did.
After a Carolina turnover, Tyus Jones hit a three to put Duke up 65-59 and then, after another turnover, Quinn Cook hit a three to put the Devils up 68-59 with 6:18 left.
“We had a tough stretch in there with three straight turnovers and all of a sudden it’s a nine-point game,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “They’re really good. But we played pretty doggone well except for a four of five minute stretch there.”
It was a even game statistically, except Duke got to the foul line more (21 made, compared to 13 for Carolina) and turned the ball over less (10 compared to 15 for Carolina).
Paige, who played poorly in the loss at Duke, played better in this game, scoring 23 to lead the Tar Heels. Brice Johnson had 17, Justin Jackson 14 and JP Tokoto scored 10 although he also had four turnovers.
To start the game, the Blue Devils hit their first five shots including threes by Tyus Jones and Cook, the same two that killed the Tar Heels in Durham. Just five minutes in, Duke had a double-digit lead at 18-8.
An 8-0 run, highlighted by a Justin Jackson three and a Brice Johnson old-fashioned three-point play, got the Tar Heels back in it.
Threes by Nate Britt and Paige erased a 24-20 Duke lead and gave Carolina its first lead since the first basket of the game at 26-24.
The Tar Heels got the lead to six before settling for a 33-31 halftime lead. It looked as if it would be another one of those games that came down to the last minute. But this one was really never in doubt over the last six minutes although a Paige three with 45 seconds left drew the Heels to within five and they had a chance to cut it to three or two before once again turning the ball over.
Coach Williams said he had to do a better job of getting his team to focus but he’s running out of time with only the ACC tournament and NCAA tournament left.
The Tar Heels, 21-10 and 11-7 in the league, are the fifth seed in the ACC tournament and will play Wednesday afternoon against the winner of Boston College and Georgia Tech. No. 2 seeded Duke, 28-3 and 15-3 in the ACC, gets a bye until the quarterfinals on Thursday.