Zion Williamson scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds before fouling out, and his teammates rescued him in No. 2 Duke's 69-58 victory against No. 12 Texas Tech in a Thursday night showdown at Madison Square Garden in New York.
RJ Barrett pumped in 16 points and Tre Jones had 13 points as the Blue Devils (11-1) won their sixth game in a row.
Sophomore guard Jarrett Culver poured in 25 points for the Red Raiders (10-1), who went more than six minutes to close the game without a field goal.
It had been the best start to a season for the Red Raiders since the 1929-30 team went 12-0.
Texas Tech committed 24 turnovers while Duke was charged with 19 giveaways. The Blue Devils shot 3 for 20 on 3-point attempts, including Barrett's 0-for-7 line.
Duke missed its first 14 shots from 3-point range before Jack White's corner trey tied the score at 45-45.
Shortly after, Williamson picked up his fourth foul at the 10:32 mark. He sat out about four minutes, then fouled out with 3:51 to play on an offensive charge.
Before Williamson's exit, the Blue Devils gained a 47-46 edge on Barrett's basket in the lane, the first time Duke led since the score was 10-7.
After Duke went up by three, Kyle Edwards sank a layup and Culver hit a 3-pointer and a dunk as the Red Raiders regained momentum.
The Blue Devils then went up for good on White's 3-pointer at the 6:07 mark. White ended up with eight points off the bench.
Duke failed on three consecutive possessions to expand a 65-58 lead, but the Red Raiders didn't convert on the other end.
Texas Tech entered the game with the nation's leading defense, allowing 51.2 points per game.
Culver finished 9 for 21 from the field, including 4 for 9 from 3-point range.
Texas Tech led 29-28 at halftime.
Duke opened an 8-0 lead during a stretch when Texas Tech committed three turnovers, but the Red Raiders got it together for a 12-2 run to take the lead.
In Duke's previous game two nights earlier at home against Princeton, the Blue Devils trailed 8-0.
Duke is 35-18 all-time in Madison Square Garden.
Texas Tech was unable to repeat last January's conquering of a No. 2 team when it won a home game against West Virginia.
--Field Level Media
Texas Tech | Duke | |
Jarrett Culver 25 | Scoring | Zion Williamson 17 |
Jarrett Culver 4 | Assists | Tre Jones 5 |
Norense Odiase 7 | Rebounds | Zion Williamson 13 |
Jarrett Culver 3 | Free Throws Made | Zion Williamson 9 |
Jarrett Culver 2 | Steals | Tre Jones 6 |
Jarrett Culver 1 | Blocks | Marques Bolden 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Texas Tech | 58 | 38.6 | 5-16 | 9-13 | 9 | 33 | 3 | 6 | 24 |
Duke | 69 | 38.3 | 3-20 | 20-25 | 11 | 35 | 7 | 15 | 19 |