ATLANTA— From where Mike Krzyzewski stood, his team was headed for another Instant Classic.
Only this time, Maryland would be the featured attraction on the ESPN program, winning Saturday’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinal game on Juan Dixon’s bomb from just past the half-court line.
“I thought Dixon’s shot was in. It was right on line,” Krzyzewski said.
Gary Williams knew otherwise, though, as his team’s final prayer floated through the Georgia Dome in front of 40,083 screaming fans.
“Juan was right in front of me and it was just a little left all the way,”Williams said. “Messing around in practice, Juan can shoot the ball pretty well from that distance, so we had a chance.”
When the ball glanced off the side of the rim, the Blue Devils owned an 84-82 victory and a date in today’s 1 p.m. championship game against North Carolina. It marks the third time in four years Duke and Carolina will meet in the title match, with the Blue Devils winning in 1999 and UNC in 1998.
While a Carolina-Duke final pits the league’s top seeds, the Blue Devils (28-4) had to beat the ACC’s hottest team to advance.
Maryland (21-10) had won its last six games and looked like a favorite to bounce Duke. In the season’s first meeting, the Devils rallied from 10 points down in the final minute to stun Maryland in a game that garnered Instant Classic acclaim. Maryland got its revenge two weeks ago at Duke with a 91-80 victory.
And this time, Duke would have to face the more physical Terps without injured starting center Carlos Boozer.
“I figure this proves our point. We had confidence all along that we’re still a very good team without Carlos,”said Duke forward Shane Battier, who scored a game-high 20 points. “Right now our overall confidence is rising with every game.”
Nate James may have received the biggest confidence boost Saturday. The slumping senior scored the game-winning basket with 1.8 seconds to play, tipping in Jason Williams’ wild layup attempt in heavy traffic.
“As soon as Jason Williams started penetrating, I said to myself, ‘I’m going to get a tap,’ ”James said. “I knew they had big guys back there flying at him, so I just focused on the ball, went up and tapped it in.”
James’ big play kept Maryland from completing its furious comeback. The Terps trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half when the Blue Devils got hot from behind the 3-point line.
Duke’s first five scores in the second half came on 3s after a 3-for-13 showing from long range in the first half. Jason Williams (19 points) connected for the first two, then Battier and Mike Dunleavy Jr. (15) got into the act.
Williams’ 25-foot bomb with the shot clock winding down put Duke ahead 64-56 at the 12:51 mark, and Dunleavy stretched the lead to 11 a minute later with a double-pump 3.
Maryland stayed in the game, though, because the Devils lost their 3-point touch just as quickly as they had regained it. Williams, Battier and Chris Duhon each launched signature dagger-in-the-heart shots, which uncharacteristically clanked off the front of the rim.
“If you give me that shot 10 times I’m going to knock it down probably nine times,”Battier said.
Instead, the Terps turned the misses into instant offense. Dixon, who led the Terps with 17 points, nailed a 3 from the corner to pull Maryland within 75-72 at the 4:23 mark. He added another one two minutes later, and when Danny Miller nailed a 3-pointer in transition, the Terps led 78-77 with 2:20 to go.
“I’m really proud of our players for the way they responded after getting down like we did,”Gary Williams said. “We didn’t play particularly well early and Duke came out on fire to start the second half.
“We made a great run to get back in the game and did what we had to do to put ourselves in a position to win the game.”
Dunleavy banked home a runner off the glass to put Duke back in front before the Terps took the ball at the Devils’ most vulnerable position — sophomore center Casey Sanders, Boozer’s replacement.
Terence Morris drove down the baseline and sent up a shot that Sanders wiped off the glass, his second block of the night. The Terps screamed for a goal-tending call and didn’t get it.
“Casey, in these two games of the tournament, has looked like a veteran player,” Krzyzewski said. “Our big guys did a great job.”
Dunleavy gave Duke an 82-79 lead with 16.5 seconds remaining when he swished two free throws. But Maryland raced back the other way and Steve Blake nailed a 3-pointer to tie it with eight seconds to go.
Without a timeout, Jason Williams grabbed the inbounds pass and raced to the basket. His shot careened off the glass, bounced high off the rim and James was there, soaring across the lane for the tip.
“It’s one of the best games I’ve been a part of in this tournament,”Krzyzewski said.
It didn’t start out that way for Duke, which missed its first 11 shots. The Terps jumped out to a 10-0 lead as Morris and Lonny Baxter dominated in the low post.
Krzyzewski didn’t call for time as the drought stretched on. Finally, James hit a 3 from the corner to stop the bleeding, and three minutes later it was 12-12 thanks to a Battier 3 and Williams layup.
“I was thinking about confidence,” Krzyzewski said. “This team does not need to be rescued, it needs to just play. That’s my way of telling them that I was confident. Calling a quick timeout there is not what a championship team needs.”
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NOTES: Boozer’s absence made for an astonishing difference in the rebounding numbers.The Blue Devils had just four defensive rebounds in the first half. For the game, Maryland owned a 51-30 edge overall. … The great equalizer was turnovers. Duke turned the ball over just six times to Maryland’s 20. “They got some extra shots and we got some extra possessions,” Krzyzewski said.
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