CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -- Nate James has won a lot of games and
titles in four years with Duke. And he has watched a lot of honors
and praise go to everyone else but him.
|  | | Duke's Mike Dunleavy, bottom, and Clemson's Will Solomon battle for the loose ball. |
"I've been here for five years, but people still don't know who
Nate James is," said James, who scored a career-high 27 points to
lead the third-ranked Blue Devils to an 81-64 victory Wednesday
night. "So, I want to go out there and show. Show them that this
is my last go-round and I want to win."
James' performance propped up Duke (21-2, 9-1 Atlantic Coast
Conference) despite Jason Williams' second consecutive poor shooting
performance. The Blue Devils extended their Atlantic Coast Conference-record 24-road winning streak to 24 and beat the Tigers (10-13, 1-9) for the 11th consecutive time.
They would have done none of it without James, a soft-spoken
senior who has watched Trajan Langdon, Elton Brand, William Avery,
Shane Battier and Williams soar as Blue Devil stars, while he did
what he could to help.
"That's all up on me," said James, who surpassed his career
high of 26 set in November against Texas. "If I go out there and
play my game and lock guys up and control the ball, everything else
will come. This year, I'm getting a chance to show that and I want
to take advantage."
James scored Duke's first eight points, then steadily stung
Clemson with his shooting. He also had primary duty defending
Clemson's Will Solomon, and the ACC's top scorer was held to 11 points on
4-for-16 shooting.
James' line was as pure as any put up by Brand or Battier -- 10-for-14 overall, 3-for-5 on 3-pointers, seven rebounds and assist and a
steal.
"I think Nate has always understood that he's a key guy on our
team," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He's certainly not the
most talented guy on our team, and as a result you can only talk
about so many guys."
But James brings stability when Williams manages just eight
points, 13 fewer than his average, and commits 10 of his team's 16
turnovers.
"He's the most stable player we have," Krzyzewski said. "You
saw his best game out there tonight."
Mike Dunleavy finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds, and Shane
Battier had 15 points for Duke.
But with Williams struggling through a second consecutive off-game
-- he had just eight points in a 100-58 victory over Florida State
on Sunday -- the Tigers were in it for a lot longer than expected.
Clemson, which has lost seven in a row for the first time in 17
seasons, used a 24-11 second-half run to get to 50-49 with 11:06
left.
But Chris Duhan and Williams followed with 3-pointers and Duke
took control for good.
"When you have six for-sure NBA players, you go tooth-and-nail
for what we did for a long period of time, when you play at that
level, you've got some sunny days ahead," said Clemson coach Larry
Shyatt.
Ed Scott led the Tigers with 15 points.
The first half wasn't typical for Duke, except for the opening
six minutes when it broke to a 14-2 lead.
James and Battier each hit two 3-pointers while the Blue Devils
defense held Clemson to 1-for-10 shooting and four turnovers.
But just when it looked like a second consecutive blowout, Scott
had a basket and a three-point play to close an 17-6 run and bring
the Tigers to 20-19.
Two three-point plays by Dunleavy, and five points by Battier
put the Blue Devils back in front.
Duke was held to its second-lowest opening half of the season -- leading 33-25. It scored 31 points against Temple in November's
Preseason NIT.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Duke Clubhouse
Clemson Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jason Williams finds a streaking Nate James for the layup.
avi: 1328 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jason Williams steps back and strokes the 3-pointer over the Clemson defender.
avi: 778 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Tony Stockman finds Edward Scott who scores on the acrobatic up-and-under layup.
avi: 940 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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