Sometimes it feels like the basket has a lid. Sometimes it feels like it’s a mile wide.

The second came Wednesday night from freshman Isaiah Evans, whose six 3-pointers in the first half paved the way for No. 9 Duke’s 84-78 home win over the second-seeded Auburn Tigers. Senior guard Sion James – making his debut in the starting lineup – contributed nine crucial points, and freshman Cooper Flagg posted a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

“It was a great college basketball game,” said head coach Jon Scheyer. “We felt like coming to Auburn was better than anyone else, and I think they showed their hitting, their physicality and their depth tonight. But I really thought our guys were as tough as can be.”

Evans made a splash off the bench that felt like a tsunami, stepping up without hesitation for a torrent of six triples in the first half. The Fayetteville, North Carolina, native has had limited playing time in key games this season, but took advantage of his early opportunity on Wednesday. It started with a deep ball in traffic off a screen, then Evans capitalized on two completely open chances to bring Duke within one score. Amid the offensive barrage, the 6-foot-2 winger also secured an impressive rebound by fighting for the ball low down and keeping his foot inward to find a way out.

“Ever since I signed with Duke, I have always dreamed of playing in a high-intensity game like this and delivering for my team,” Evans said. “That was just the most important part for me.”

The Blue Devils maintained their lead in the first half, with Evans extending it as the final minutes of the game approached. Auburn failed to get one down when it needed to, and freshman Kon Knueppel added a right-handed layup to put Duke within seven with just under a minute left.

The Tigers stopped the bleeding with a layup of their own, but the Blue Devils only had to make their free throws to secure the win. And even though they finished the night with just 17 of 27 from the charity stripe, they made it when they counted.

Junior guard Tyrese Proctor, who had been Duke’s most consistent 3-point shooter to this point in the season, hit his best shot of the year with 4:30 to play. After Flagg’s shot was blocked by Chad Baker-Mazara, Proctor caught the loose ball grenade and threw it from near midcourt to beat the shot clock. When the three-pointer reached the bottom of the net, it created a deafening boom in the crowd and gave the Blue Devils a 73-68 lead.

Auburn turned to fellow All-American Johni Broome in response as the big man worked deep to keep his team within striking distance. Maluach, Flagg and Brown did well to limit his effectiveness, as the 6-foot-2 forward finished the night with just eight shots from the field, but Broome wasn’t completely shut down.

A big moment from Broome came just before the media timeout with less than 12 minutes left. The Plant City native had a great performance, rising above Duke forward Mason Gillis for a poster dunk. He was rewarded with a free throw, which he converted to cut the Blue Devils’ lead to 58-54, and his subsequent finish increased the lead to 58-56.

Early in the first half, Evans – also known by the nickname “Slim” – flicked his wrist for another three-pointer, giving the Blue Devils their first lead of the night. After a couple of 3-pointers from Pettiford, Evans upped his game with two more 3-pointers at the end of the half. Every time another one of his shots came true, No. 3 turned to the student section to celebrate. They responded one at a time, making communication nearly impossible for the Tigers — who went into the halftime locker room trailing 43-36.

“He played a very big part in us coming back and when he hit the three-pointer the team felt alive. He gave us a lot of energy,” said Maluach.

“This is a great lesson for young players. It’s the combination of being mad (because) he wants to play, and I want the guys to be mad and have that edge about them and have the humility to just attack every day. And then.” “The third thing is to have incredible courage in this game to do what he did,” said Scheyer. “I don’t know if I’ve been a part of anything like this in my years.”

However, it was the Tigers who drew first blood.

Senior guard Miles Kelly came off a screen at the top of the key and hit a three-pointer that had the well-traveled Auburn fans cheering and extended the Tigers’ early lead to 10-2. The Georgia Tech transfer waved to the crowd and then fired another three-pointer from well behind the line to force an early timeout for Scheyer.

Next up for the Blue Devils is their ACC opener on the road against a new-look Louisville on December 8th.