NEW YORK — Jayson Tatum scored 25 points and Grayson Allen provided an emotional lift during a second-half comeback as No. 14 Duke beat No. 10 Louisville 81-77 Thursday to setup a semifinal match with North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
The fifth-seeded Blue Devils (25-8) will play No. 1 seed North Carolina on Friday night for the third time this season.
Deng Adel scored 21 points for fourth-seeded Louisville (24-8), which led by a dozen with 13 minutes left but struggled from the free-throw (15 for 26) and 3-point lines (4 for 21). Still, the Cardinals had a chance to tie it late, but Quentin Snider missed a shot with 4 seconds left.
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Allen scored 18 points and ACC leading scorer Luke Kennard had 24. For the second straight game, Kennard made big shots down the stretch for Duke.
The sophomore’s 3 with 4:45 left in the second half gave Duke its first lead, 73-70, since the end of the first. Tatum’s 3 with 2:20 left made it 78-73 for the Blue Devils.
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