Allen has career-high 32 points, powers Duke to 2K Classic title

NEW YORK -- Grayson Allen carried No. 5 Duke to the 2K Classic title. It was quite a turnaround from a shoddy performance against Kentucky.

Allen scored a career-high 32 points, and the Blue Devils beat Georgetown 86-84 on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Derryck Thornton had 14 points and Matt Jones scored 11 for the Blue Devils (4-1), who trailed by five at halftime.

Allen bounced back nicely after he scored six points on 2-for-11 shooting in Tuesday night's 74-63 loss to the second-ranked Wildcats.

The sophomore came off the bench and set a career high with 30 points in Friday night's win over VCU and then returned to the starting lineup against the Hoyas and went 9 for 12 from the field in his fourth game with at least 25 points.

"I think more than prove a point, he wanted to show up," Duke forward Amile Jefferson said. "I think the performance he had this weekend was unbelievable. We're not in this game tonight without Grayson. He kept us afloat and he's been amazing."

Allen went 5 for 6 from 3-point range and 9 for 9 at the free-throw line. He also had five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

"It feels better to play better," Allen said. "That's the simple answer. For me it was about making adjustments and I made those adjustments with the help of the coaches, film and feedback and it definitely does feel better to play better."

Isaac Copeland scored 21 points for Georgetown (1-3), but was scoreless in the second half until hitting two late 3-pointers. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera and freshman Kaleb Johnson added 14 points apiece.

L.J. Peak's dunk with 17:10 left gave the Hoyas a 54-53 lead, but the Blue Devils responded with a 10-0 run. Allen got the surge started with three free throws, and Jefferson finished it off with a layup off a pass from Jones.

Georgetown made a couple more charges at Duke, but the Blue Devils held on. Allen finished off a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer that made it 77-69 with 2:46 left.

The Hoyas closed to 86-84 on a 3-pointer by Copeland with 7 seconds left. After Thornton missed two free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining, Copeland's 3-point attempt at the buzzer was short.

"I hit two shots before that so I was very confident," Copeland said. "I got to a spot I wanted to get to, saw the clock running down and I shot it. It just fell a little short."

SOME IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Duke outrebounded Georgetown 31-27 and went 28 for 36 at the line, compared to 19 of 24 for the Hoyas.

TIP-INS

Georgetown: Before hitting two 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the first half, including the late heave from midcourt, Johnson had not attempted a 3-pointer in his brief college career. ... The Hoyas shot 55 percent (28 for 51) from the field. ... Georgetown's only other meeting with Duke on a neutral site was at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the 1989 East Regional final during Alonzo Mourning's freshman season.

Duke: The Blue Devils also won this event in 2008 when they beat Michigan State by 15 and Kyle Singler was named MVP. ... Duke is 9-0 when Allen scores in double figures.

UP NEXT

Georgetown hosts Bryant on Saturday.