Duke vs. Louisville: Score, Highlights and Reaction from 2016 Regular Season

No. 18 Louisville (21-6, 10-4) stormed back from a double-digit deficit in the second half Saturday to score a 71-64 victory over No. 20 Duke (20-7, 9-5) at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cardinals, who trailed by 13 with 17 minutes to play, took advantage of a Blue Devils squad that simply ran out of steam down the stretch. Damion Lee led the way with 24 points, while Chinanu Onuaku chipped in 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.

Duke got 29 from Grayson Allen in a losing effort. Being forced to stick with a rotation of just six players came back to haunt the team in the end, though.

Here's a look at how the battle of ranked teams played out:

Team	1st Half	2nd Half	Total
Duke	37	27	64
Louisville	29	42	71

Louisville head coach Rick Pitino has tried to shift his group's focus to the ACC regular-season title after the program announced a self-imposed postseason ban earlier this month. He knew Duke represented a major hurdle due to the team's offensive efficiency, as noted by Jeff Greer of the Courier-Journal.

"They put you in isolation, one-on-one situations where, if you help too much, they get a three; if you don't help, they get fouled," Pitino said. "So, it's a difficult assignment defensively and we have to be ready for it."

It didn't take long for the Blue Devils, who were without Matt Jones due to an ankle injury, to illustrate that high-end scoring ability. They knocked down four three-pointers in the first 10 minutes to make the Cardinals' longtime coach look prophetic.

Louisville responded by trying to get a little more aggressive at the defensive end. Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports noted the early change of tactics:

Luckily for the Cardinals, Ray Spalding helped provide a spark off the bench to keep it close. He connected on three quick buckets and grabbed three rebounds in his first handful of minutes.

Evan Daniels of Scout liked what he saw from the talented freshman:

Duke came alive once again in the latter stages of the first half. It finished the opening 20 minutes on a 13-5 run after the game was tied at 24.

Allen led the charge. He scored 19 points before the break, including his fourth three of the half just before the buzzer to silence the crowd.

ESPN College BBall highlighted the late trey:

"

Grayson Allen dropped 19 point in the 1st half which he capped off with a 3 that got Dickie V excited. https://t.co/U5NhiIx83p

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) February 20, 2016"

Dana O'Neil of ESPN summed up one of several defensive lapses by Louisville in the first:

The Cardinals didn't have any answers for the Duke attack early in the second half, either. The Blue Devils stretched the lead to 13 thanks to some terrific ball movement, which is really what's spurred their recent hot streak after a lull at the beginning of ACC play.

Frustration began to mount for Louisville, and it boiled over during a battle for a loose ball between Jaylen Johnson and Allen. Johnson's elbow caught the Blue Devils' leading scorer in the face during the scrum, and it was deemed a technical foul after review.

David Gardner of Sports Illustrated provided a look at the play in question:

"

Grayson Allen getting hit in the face https://t.co/lNNDE1Kpf8

— David Gardner (@byDavidGardner) February 20, 2016"

The situation seemed to provide the energy Louisville had been missing for most of the afternoon, though. It went on a 13-6 spurt after the technical free throws to cut the lead to four by the under-eight media timeout.

Lee then came up with threes on back-to-back possessions to give the Cardinals their first lead since midway through the opening half.

ESPN College BBall spotlighted the lead change:

"

Louisville is ROCKING and Damion Lee is feeling it! https://t.co/gj3K7x5Q6r

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) February 20, 2016"

Suddenly, the roles had reversed. Louisville started rolling and got the once-dormant crowd back involved, and the Blue Devils lost their composure. Allen and head coach Mike Krzyzewski both received technical fouls as the Cardinals gained control.

The Cards survived one last surge from Duke with steady free-throw shooting over the final minutes to hold on for the much-needed win.

Louisville Athletics celebrated the comeback victory:

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports pointed out Duke's future opponents will take note of this game:

Duke has a great chance to get right back on track over the next couple of weeks. The Blue Devils have home games against Florida State and Wake Forest as well as a road trip to face Pittsburgh, all unranked teams, before a rematch with rival North Carolina to close out the regular season.

While it may have felt like the sky was falling for the reigning champions when they lost four of five during a stretch in January, they have played much better as of late, despite Saturday's result. Now they must try to maintain that form heading into the postseason.

Meanwhile, the victory is another step in the right direction for Louisville in its quest to win the ACC regular-season title. The Cardinals are now tied with Virginia at 10-4, a half-game behind Miami and North Carolina, who are facing off Saturday.

They return to the floor Wednesday to take on Pittsburgh before another marquee battle, this time against the No. 11 Hurricanes, next Saturday.  

Postgame Reaction

ESPN provided comments from Lee after his clutch play down the stretch:

Coach K joked about his frustration with the officiating throughout the game, per Mark Ennis of the Card Chronicle:

Pitino felt it was an important win not only for his players, but for the fans, as noted by Eric Crawford of WDRB: