Duke's Maliq Brown Stood Out At Unc. It Showed His Importance To The No. 2 Blue Devils' Title Hopes

Maliq Brown hadn't played for the better part of three weeks for second-ranked Duke, a shoulder injury sidelining him just as the season made a hard turn into the stretch run.

His return Saturday night was perfectly timed then, both for the Blue Devils' latest win against their fiercest rivals and the bigger-picture goal of hoisting a trophy on the final Monday night of the season.

The 6-foot-9 junior was back as the feet-moving, deflection-forcing whiz critical to Duke's elite defensive machine. Yet he also stepped up on the offensive end with a pair of 3-pointers and a critical assist in the Blue Devils' decisive second-half push, helping them rally past North Carolina 82-69 to clinch the Atlantic Coast Conference outright regular-season crown.

Brown finished with eight points, three rebounds and three assists while posting a game-best plus-20 rating in his 16 minutes.

"I saw a look out of Maliq tonight that I haven't really seen for the whole year, but we all know he has," freshman star Cooper Flagg said.