No. 10 Duke stuns No. 5 North Carolina 85-84

Austin Rivers drove a sharp dagger into North Carolina's heart at the buzzer last night, drilling a 3-point shot from the right wing that gave Duke a stunning 85-84 decision at the Smith Center.

Rivers' shot capped a furious Duke rally in the final 2:36, when UNC held an 82-72 lead. Duke finished on a 13-2 run, built on 3-point shooting, UNC's missed free throws and three mistakes by Tyler Zeller, UNC's senior center.

The last of Zeller's mistakes came on the winning shot. Zeller, a 7-footer, had to pick up Rivers, a guard, on the right side of the floor. Zeller went out to the 3-point line but no farther, and Rivers stayed well behind the line.

Rivers surveyed the situation and watched the seconds tick off. When Zeller wouldn't move out to defend, Rivers decided to shoot from 22 feet.

"It was a play just for me to see if Dre (Andre Dawkins) could get open," Rivers said. "If Dre can get open, it's supposed to be a pick and roll. I was actually supposed to go to the lane and try to get fouled.

"I just came off the pick and roll and saw Zeller on me. He was backing off a little bit, and I shot it with confidence. God put the ball in the rim."

Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke said he thought Rivers had more to do with the shot than spiritual guidance.

"To hit a shot like that is storybook," Krzyzewski said. "He did what he was put on this planet to do."

The shot shocked a sellout crowd in the building, which was savoring what it thought would be a win over UNC's biggest rival.

"It's terrible to be in control of the game, up 10, and then lose it on a last-second shot," said Harrison Barnes, a UNC forward. "It's a tough way to lose.

"We kind of laid back a little bit. We committed some terrible turnovers down the stretch. It caught up to us at the end."

Tyler Thornton and Seth Curry drilled 3-point baskets to start Duke's comeback. Thornton's 3-pointer was his only make in six attempts. Curry's cut the score to 82-78 with 1:47 left.

UNC led 83-80 with 44.3 seconds left when Ryan Kelly fired another 3-pointer for Duke. The shot was short and didn't hit the basket.

Zeller soared to grab the ball and put his left hand on it, but couldn't gain control and the ball bounced into the basket for a Duke score.

The lead was down to 83-82 with 14.2 seconds left. Zeller was fouled with 13.9 seconds left and made the first shot for a two-point lead. He missed the second, however, giving Duke the opening it needed.

Making free throws was a problem for UNC in the final 7:20. UNC made only five of its last 11 free throws, including a missed one-and-one.

Rivers scored 29 points for Duke. Duke made 14 3-point baskets and outscored UNC 42-3 on the shots. Barnes scored 25 and Zeller added 23 points and 11 rebounds for UNC.

Duke improved to 20-4 overall and 7-2 in the ACC. UNC fell to 20-4 and 7-2. With Boston College's upset of Florida State last night, Duke, UNC and FSU are tied for first place.

"Just to win this game against North Carolina, a great team with a great coach, I think this can be a huge momentum thing for our team right now," Rivers said.

UNC had to fight from behind for almost all of the first half to take a 43-40 halftime lead. Duke led 29-21 with 8:39 left in the first half but made only two field goals, both 3-pointers, the rest of the half.

UNC forged a 39-39 tie with 1:19 left before halftime after Barnes made two free throws. Duke regained the lead 40-39 on a free throw by Rivers, but Barnes made two more free throws with 43.5 seconds left to give UNC its first lead of the game.