National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
North Carolina 74, Duke 66
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 20, 2014
Where: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Officials: # Ed Corbett, # Pat Driscoll, # Bryan Kersey
Attendance: 21750

North Carolina 74, No. 6 Duke 66: Leslie McDonald scored a season-high 21 points as the host Tar Heels came from behind in the second half to win their eight consecutive game.

Marcus Paige scored all 13 of his points in the second half for North Carolina (19-7, 9-4 ACC), which moved a half game behind Duke for third place in the conference standings. James Michael McAdoo added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels.

Jabari Parker finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Duke (21-6, 10-4), which came in tied for second in the nation in 3-point shooting (41.6) but shot just 5-for-22 from beyond the arc. Quinn Cook also scored 17 points off the bench and Rodney Hood bounced back from early foul trouble to score 16 points for the Blue Devils.

Parker scored on a layup with just over 15 minutes remaining to give Duke a 51-40 lead but that would be its last field goal for nearly nine minutes. The Blue Devils missed 13 straight field-goal attempts as North Carolina ate away at the deficit before eventually tying the score at 60 on an inside basket by McAdoo.

The Tar Heels took a two-point lead when Cook missed the front end of a one-and-one and McDonald buried a jumper on the other end with just under four minutes left. Paige twice scored on drives to extend the lead to four and North Carolina shot 6-for-6 from the line in the final minute to preserve the lead.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Tar Heels have beat all four teams that opened the season ranked in the top four of the USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll - Kentucky, Michigan State, Louisville and Duke. … North Carolina, which came in last in the ACC in free throw shooting (62.2), started 1-for-8 from the free-throw line, then made nine straight before finishing 20-for-31. … North Carolina owned a 43-30 advantage on the boards.
Top Game Performances
 
Duke   North Carolina
Quinn Cook 17 Scoring Leslie McDonald 21
Quinn Cook 3 Assists Marcus Paige 4
Jabari Parker 11 Rebounds James Michael McAdoo 10
Jabari Parker 3 Free Throws Made Nate Britt 6
Quinn Cook 2 Steals J.P. Tokoto 2
Jabari Parker 2 Blocks Desmond Hubert 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Duke 66 42.9 5-22 7-12 5 30 6 6 12
North Carolina 74 47.3 2-9 20-31 12 42 3 5 13