J.J. Redick is making the incredible look downright ordinary these days. He scored nearly half of Duke's points on Saturday
Shelden Williams added 17 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks for the Blue Devils (19-1, 7-0 ACC), who continued their dominance in the series by beating the Cavaliers (10-7, 4-3) for the 22nd time in 24 meetings.
Redick finished one point shy of matching his career high of 41 set against Texas and Georgetown this season. He came in as the nation's third leading scorer at 27.1 points a game, but passed Andre Collins (Loyola of Maryland) to move into the second spot behind Adam Morrison (Gonzaga).
PHOTO: AP
"I have a feeling before every game that it's going to be a good shooting night," Redick said. "It doesn't always work out for me though."
It certainly did Saturday. Redick went 11-for-13 from the floor and 8-for-10 from behind the arc in 34 minutes. He also hit 10 of 11 free throws, putting him alongside Dick Groat as the only Blue Devils with three 40-point games in a career.
And while Redick, the reigning ACC player of the year, said it wasn't easy, he's sure making it look that way.
"I have to work extremely hard to do this," Redick said. "I think at any time I could have an off shooting night or an off scoring night. But my role on this team -- or one of them -- is to score points, and I'm going to work as hard as I can to do that."
It was a performance that had Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Virginia coach Dave Leitao gushing about Redick, with Krzyzewski calling him "a treasure" and Leitao comparing Redick's knowledge of the game to that of an NBA veteran.
"What he is doing this season, I think all of us -- players, coaches and media -- should really savor," Leitao said. "He's having a season for the ages. ... We all need to sit back and admire it because it won't happen for a long time after this."
Teammate Sean Dockery, however, was tougher to impress.
"You haven't seen anything," Dockery said. "At practice, sometimes he doesn't miss. It's crazy."
Redick scored 11 points during a 20-2 run to open the game and single-handedly outscored the Cavaliers with 16 points in the first 15 minutes, prompting chants from the rowdy "Cameron Crazies" of "J.J.'s winning!"
Redick kept pouring it on after the break, scoring eight straight points -- ending with a long 3 that rolled around and dropped through the rim for a 45-27 lead with about 18 minutes left.
No. 1 Connecticut 76,
Providence 62
When the shots wouldn't fall, top-ranked Connecticut had to work a little harder for its baskets.
"Making the first shot ... that would be a bit easier," UConn center Josh Boone said after the Huskies beat Providence 76-62.
"But when you have 21 offensive rebounds, you can't really complain."
Hilton Armstrong had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Boone had nine and 13 to lead UConn (18-1, 6-1 Big East) to its seventh consecutive win. The Huskies struggled with their shooting -- making just 39 percent from the field -- but used a 52-34 advantage in rebounding to set up 36 second-chance points, against 11 for Providence.
"That was the killer," Providence coach Tim Welsh said. "That was the difference."
The road team had won five straight matchups between the teams, including UConn's 94-89 double-overtime victory in Providence last year. But the Friars (9-9, 2-5) fell to 0-5 against ranked teams this season and has not beaten one in 15 tries.
"Half that team is NBA," said Donnie McGrath, who scored 18 points for Providence. "It's tough to compete with a team like that for 40 minutes."
Randall Hanke had 16 points and Sharaud Curry added 15 for the Friars.
Gilbert Arenas scored 34 points and the Washington Wizards beat undermanned Charlotte 107-97 on Saturday for the Bobcats' franchise-record 11th straight NBA loss.
Antawn Jamison, who scored 20 or more points for the eighth straight game, had 14 of his 23 points in the third quarter as the Wizards won for the seventh time in their last 10 games. He also grabbed 13 rebounds for his 21st double-double of the season.
Primoz Brezec matched his career high with 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Charlotte before fouling out with 2:09 remaining. Raymond Felton added 18 points and a career-high 13 assists.
The Bobcats were missing four of their top five scorers because of injuries. They played without point guard Brevin Knight, Keith Bogans, Emeka Okafor, Kareem Rush, Sean May and Gerald Wallace.
Ten or fewer players dressed for the 11th time in Charlotte's past 13 games. For the second time this season, the Bobcats had only nine healthy players.
76ers 91, Knicks 76
At Philadelphia, Chris Webber had 21 points and 10 rebounds and John Salmons added 18 points to lead Philadelphia over New York.
Allen Iverson, second in the NBA in scoring at 33.6 points per game, sat out with a sprained left ankle after he was injured in Thursday's loss against Orlando. Iverson is day-to-day and might not make the trip to Orlando for Sunday's game.
Samuel Dalembert had 15 rebounds and five blocked shots for the Sixers, who played with the kind of defensive toughness coach Maurice Cheeks has preached all season.
Qyntel Woods scored 24 points and Stephon Marbury added 14 for New York, which lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Mavericks 103, Jazz 89
At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki shook off a twisted ankle to score 21 points and Josh Howard scored 24, leading Dallas past Utah for its season-best eighth straight victory.
Coming home after a 5-0 road trip, the Mavericks trailed for only one possession in the opening minutes. A far bigger scare was seeing Nowitzki doubled over in pain after getting his feet tangled with a Utah player late in the first quarter. He limped off the court and went to the locker room, but returned midway through the second.
Dallas has won 11 of its last 12 games. This victory helped the Mavs remain tied with San Antonio for the best record in the Western Conference, both at 34-10.
Devin Brown came off the bench to lead Utah with 18 points. Andrei Kirilenko had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Mehmet Okur scored 16.
Spurs 102, Timberwolves 88
At San Antonio, Tim Duncan scored 28 points, and San Antonio used a 13-1 run in the fourth quarter to pull away from Minnesota.
Tony Parker scored 25 points for San Antonio and Manu Ginobili finished with 14, nine coming in the fourth. Duncan had 16 rebounds.
Kevin Garnett led Minnesota with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Ricky Davis contributed 20 points and Mark Blount 18 in their second games as Timberwolves after being traded by Boston.
Bulls 111, Hawks 99
At Chicago, Ben Gordon scored 10 of his 23 points in the final 2:28 as Chicago held off a strong rally and beat Atlanta to match a season best with its fourth straight win.
Atlanta's Joe Johnson scored 32 of his career-high 40 points in the second half as the Hawks chopped a 24-point, third-quarter deficit to five in the final period. Johnson made 13 of 16 shots in the second half during a stellar offensive display that kept the Hawks in the game.
Kirk Hinrich added 22 points for the Bulls, 18 in the opening half when Chicago built a big lead against the NBA's worst road team.
SuperSonics 113, Nets 104
At Seattle, Ray Allen scored 35 points and Seattle held on to send New Jersey home after an 0-4 road trip.
Allen was outstanding in the final minutes while New Jersey was trying unsuccessfully to overcome a big deficit for the second straight night.
Richard Jefferson led the Nets with a season-high 36 points, but New Jersey couldn't rally from a 15-point deficit. The Nets were down 20 to Portland on Friday before losing 88-83.
Vince Carter finished with 29 points on 11 of 19 shooting after missing Friday's game with a sore back. Nenad Krstic had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, but Jason Kidd struggled, shooting 1-of-10 and finished with five points.
Warriors 98, Trail Blazers 83
At Oakland, California, Baron Davis had 29 points, 16 assists and eight rebounds, and Golden State snapped a four-game losing streak.
Rookie Monta Ellis scored a career-high 14 points and Mickael Pietrus also added 14 in his second start of the season and second in two nights for the beat-up Warriors. Golden State was without injured starters Jason Richardson and Mike Dunleavy but still managed to beat the Blazers for the fourth straight time.
Troy Murphy grabbed a season-high 21 rebounds for Golden State.
Juan Dixon scored 21 points, while Sebastian Telfair added 12 points, six assists, four rebounds.
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