No. 2 Duke drills Syracuse for 16th consecutive win

Tyrese Proctor scored 16 points, Kon Knueppel added 12 and Duke extended the nation's longest active winning streak with an 83-54 rout over host Syracuse on Wednesday.

Cooper Flagg tallied 11 points, five rebounds and two blocks for the second-ranked Blue Devils (20-2, 12-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who never trailed en route to their 16th straight win. Sion James chipped in 10 points, four assists and three steals to help Duke secure its best start in ACC play since the 2005-06 campaign (14-0).

Jyare Davis and J.J. Starling each scored 12 points and Naheem McLeod had 10 to lead the Orange (10-13, 4-8), who lost for the fourth time in five games. Syracuse shot 38.3 percent from the field and finished with its fewest points this season.

The Blue Devils outplayed the Orange in almost every facet, making 56.6 percent of their shots, committing eight fewer giveaways and holding a 23-7 advantage in points off turnovers. Duke also made 14 of its 19 free-throw attempts, while Syracuse went just 2-of-4 from the line.

The visitors heated up from 3-point range to expand their early 8-7 lead. Flagg and Isaiah Evans each drilled a triple to make it a seven-point game, and Proctor responded to McLeod's jumper with a long ball that put the Blue Devils up by eight.

James hit another trey less than a minute later to make it 20-9 and cause an Orange timeout midway through the half. Proctor canned Duke's sixth and final 3-pointer of the half in the closing seconds to propel the Blue Devils into the break leading 37-23.

Duke continued to cruise in the second half, going up 52-31 on James' lay-in with 13:24 to go. Flagg replenished the 21-point lead when he drove past the 7-foot-4 McLeod and threw down a two-handed jam that put the Blue Devils up 59-38 with 10:17 left.

Evans punctuated the blowout with a runaway tomahawk jam to stretch the lead to 31 with 3:52 remaining.

--Field Level Media