No. 19 Duke hits its stride, shoots past archrival No. 7 North Carolina

DURHAM, N.C. — Breaking down No. 19 Duke’s 86-78 win over No. 7 North Carolina Thursday night in front of a raucous Cameron Indoor Stadium crowd:

THE BIG PICTURE: Hello, Duke. This is the team we thought we’d be seeing this season. A slew of early-season injuries to the star-studded freshman class, a major tripping incident involving preseason ACC player of the year Grayson Allen — which resulted in an “indefinite” suspension capped at one game — and back surgery that took Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski away from the sidelines for a month all contributed to what had been, until recently, a very disjointed Blue Devil season.

But now — finally — we’re starting to see what the nation’s preseason No. 1 looks like when it’s firing on all cylinders. Allen finally looked comfortable and confident on the court for the first time in awhile, which translated to a comfortable, confident and ultra-productive day. Matt Jones and Amile Jefferson stepped up big on the defensive end, as veteran captains should in games of this magnitude. Talented freshman Jayson Tatum was spectacular in the second half, and even Harry Giles — who hasn’t played a ton of minutes this season following his preseason knee surgery — made significant contributions on both ends in relief. The team looked as good on the court as it looks on paper. Finally.

WHAT WE’LL BE TALKING ABOUT: Jayson Tatum’s second-half performance. He was 0-for-3 from the field at the break, before reeling off 19 points to go along with five assists and nine rebounds on the night. He was aggressive, effective and important, particularly when Allen had to sit on the bench with four fouls down the stretch.  Tatum also hit two clutch free throws in the game's final minute to help seal the victory.

"Jayson was magnificent for them in the second half," UNC coach Roy Williams said.

STAR POWER: Grayson Allen did Grayson Allen things — and no, we don’t mean he tripped up a bunch of Tar Heels throughout the game. Allen remained controversy-free (thankfully) and will find his name in the headlines for his actual play: He finished the night with 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting, including seven three-pointers, as Duke’s leading scorer despite finding himself on the bench in foul trouble for part of the game late. He fouled out with just over a minute remaining, to a huge ovation from the Cameron faithful.

HIGHLIGHT REEL MOMENT #1: The moment when Allen realized he was hot, yet again, near the end of the first half:

HIGHLIGHT REEL MOMENT #2: Tatum’s first major contribution to college basketball’s greatest rivalry (of many):

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