Clemson and No. 6-ranked Duke entered Tuesday night's matchup having split the last two meetings.
The two teams were deadlocked at 36 at halftime but ultimately the Blue Devils (16-3, 6-2) held on for a 71-69 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was the last time the Tigers would face Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski in Durham.
Clemson (11-9, 3-6), which fell to 4-63 all-time in Durham, put together one of its best performances of the season in nearly pulling off the upset.
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Three Tigers reached double figures in scoring, led by P.J. Hall's 14 points. Paolo Banchero led the Blue Devils with a game-high 19 points.
Clemson struck first early on a Hunter Tyson basket but trailed 6-2 a minute later. The Tigers would quickly regain a 7-6 advantage on a Chase Hunter layup two and a half minutes in.
From there the Blue Devils would regain control before the Tigers would retake the lead nine minutes in following a Hunter three-pointer.
With 4:41 remaining in the first half, Clemson would enjoy its largest lead, a 31-26 edge after an Alex Hemenway three-pointer. Duke would then go on a 10-2 run, holding a 36-33 lead but with 12 seconds remaining before the break, Hall would drill a three-pointer to pull the Tigers even at intermission.
Banchero put Duke on the board first in the second half and another basket with just over 3:30 minutes in gave the Blue Devils a 47-41 lead. Later, Duke would hold a seven-point lead twice but with 8:14 remaining a Tyson three-pointer would draw the Tigers closer in what would set the stage for a slugfest the rest of the way.
A dunk by Hunter with 7:37 remaining would pull the Tigers to within two. A minute and a half later Nick Honor would drill a three-pointer, pushing Clemson ahead 61-60. The two teams would quickly tie one another at 63 and again at 65 before a Banchero jumper with 1:31 left would give the Blue Devils a four-point edge.
A Tyson dunk with 38 seconds left closed Duke's lead to two at 69-67, but Banchero's layup with 13 seconds left would be all the Blue Devils would need to secure a 71-69 victory following a late David Collins basket.
Duke shot 48.1-percent from the floor and hit 10-of-20 three-pointers, while converting 11-of-13 free throws. The Tigers hit 29-of-71 baskets (40.8%), including 11-of-26 (42.3%) from long range.
Wendell Moore Jr. (13) and Mark Williams (10) joined Banchero in scoring double figures for the home team. Tyson (13) and Hunter (12) added double-figure scoring performances for the Tigers.
Duke will travel to Louisville on Saturday while the Tigers will enjoy over a week off before returning to Littlejohn Coliseum to host Florida State next Wednesday, February 2. The game is set for a 7:00 p.m. tip and will televised by the ACC Network.
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