Allen returns, Duke rolls past Georgia Tech

Grayson Allen had 15 points and seven assists in his return from a one-game suspension for tripping an opponent, and No. 8 Duke routed Georgia Tech 110-57 on Wednesday night in head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final game before leaving the team to have back surgery.

Jayson Tatum scored 19 points to lead the Blue Devils (13-2, 1-1 ACC), who had seven double-figure scorers in arguably their most complete performance of the season.

Still, it was largely overshadowed by a pair of subplots: Allen’s quick return from what was an indefinite suspension for tripping an Elon player Dec. 21, and Krzyzewski’s upcoming leave of absence that’s expected to last a few weeks.

Luke Kennard finished with 16 points, Frank Jackson added 15 and Harry Giles had 10 points and 12 rebounds for Duke. Justin Moore had 13 points to lead the Yellow Jackets (9-5, 1-1).

Krzyzewski will have surgery Friday to remove a fragment of a herniated disk from his lower back, and at times his discomfort seemed apparent: The soon-to-be 70-year-old appeared to hobble on his left leg, at times leaning back on the bench with that leg extended and clutching it.

The Blue Devils expect him back in roughly four weeks and they will put associate head coach Jeff Capel in charge until he returns.

They gave Krzyzewski quite the sendoff, in the process finally looking like the nation’s preseason No. 1 team.

Duke took control with an early 29-7 run, needed about 10 1/2 minutes to build a 20-point lead and scored a season-best 61 points in the first half – only two fewer than rival North Carolina scored on the Yellow Jackets in an entire game.

This story was originally published January 4, 2017 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Allen returns, Duke rolls past Georgia Tech."