National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Duke 82, Butler 70
When: 3:15 PM ET, Saturday, December 4, 2010
Where: IZOD Center, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Officials: # Bryan Kersey, # Brian Dorsey, # Les Jones
Attendance: 14215

Nolan Smith led four players in double figures and top-ranked Duke pulled away for an 82-70 home win against Butler on Saturday in a rematch of last season's national championship game.

Butler (4-3) led by as many as five points in the first half before Duke closed the gap and tied it at 33 on Smith's dunk with three seconds left in the half. The defending champion Blue Devils (8-0) then pulled away with a 12-0 run in the middle of the second half and didn't let the Bulldogs get back in it.

Smith scored a game-high 24 points, and freshman point guard Kyrie Irving rebounded from a rough first half to finish with 21. Irving scored only four points and had four turnovers in the first half.

Duke's Kyle Singler added 13 before fouling out with 3:03 left, and Andre Dawkins had 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Blue Devils.

Smith did much of his damage from the free-throw line, going 13-of-14, as the Blue Devils were 24-of-29 from the line.

Butler also had four players in double figures, led by Shawn Vanzant, who scored 14 off the bench.

Duke doesn't face its next major-conference opponent until opening ACC play Jan. 2 against Miami.
Top Game Performances
 
Butler   Duke
Shawn Vanzant 14 Scoring Nolan Smith 24
Shelvin Mack 5 Assists Seth Curry 3
Shelvin Mack 6 Rebounds Andre Dawkins 8
Andrew Smith 4 Free Throws Made Nolan Smith 13
Zach Hahn 2 Steals Mason Plumlee 2
N/A Blocks Ryan Kelly 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Butler 70 44.8 8-15 10-20 15 31 0 10
Duke 82 47.2 8-26 24-29 11 32 1 9