Duke Advances To The Semifinals Of The Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament In Zion Williamson's Return

The storyline of Duke’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament opener was the return of freshman Zion Williamson and he didn’t disappoint.

-- Zion Williamson made all 13 of his shots, five on high-flying dunks, and scored 29 points in his return to lead No. 5 Duke to an 84-72 victory over Syracuse on Thursday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinals.”according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211795609&DB_OEM_ID=4200

RJ Barrett added 23 points and six rebounds to help Duke (27-5) set up a semifinal showdown with No. 3 North Carolina. The Tar Heels swept both games from the Blue Devils in the regular season, with Williamson injured in the first minute of the first meeting.”according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211795609&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Williamson got off to a rousing start two minutes into the game when he stole a pass and drove the length of the floor before cocking his right hand back and throwing down a highlight-reel dunk that brought the crowd to its feet. He added three more soaring dunks in the first half -- including one off an alley-oop pass from Barrett -- and finished the first half with 21 points on 9-of-9 shooting and nine rebounds as Duke built a 34-28 lead.”according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211795609&DB_OEM_ID=4200

It was Williamson's first game since his left Nike Paul George shoe broke during a Feb. 20 game against the Tar Heels, causing him to miss nearly six full games with a sprained right knee. Williamson wore modified Nike Kyrie 4's this time specifically designed to lend extra support to his 6-foot-7, 285-pound frame.”according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211795609&DB_OEM_ID=4200

He showed no signs of any lingering knee issue and cracked a smile several times throughout the game.”according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211795609&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Frank Howard scored 28 points, and Buddy Boeheim had 15 for Syracuse (20-13).”according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211795609&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Despite Williamson's highlight-reel display, the Orange battled until the end without leading scorer Tyus Battle, who missed his second straight game with a back injury.”according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211795609&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Syracuse tied it with 13 minutes remaining on back-to-back 3-pointers from Boeheim.”according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211795609&DB_OEM_ID=4200

But Duke wore down Syracuse down the stretch between the inside game of Williamson and the shooting of Barrett, who punctuated the win with a windmill dunk with 1:14 remaining.”according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211795609&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Tre Jones added 15 points and eight assists for Duke.”according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211795609&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Duke will return to the court in Charlotte on Friday night for the semifinals where they will take on their tobacco road rival North Carolina for the third time this season.