DURHAM, N.C. — Monday night’s top 10 battle between Duke and Florida State lived up to all the expectations surrounding it, with the Blue Devils winning 70-65.

Just 48 hours after the Blue Devils knocked off archival North Carolina in an emotional, overtime contest in Chapel Hill, they were faced with one of the toughest defensive teams in the country. In most cases that spells out disastrous outcomes.

And for this young Duke team, many speculated that it would on Monday night for them as well.

The Blue Devils had other plans, though, which all rested on the shoulders of a strong start. That’s something Duke has not had in quite some time. In fact, slow starts have been an Achilles heel for the Blue Devils as of late.

It’s put them in a position to fight and claw their way back into games more often than they would like. Monday night was different.

The Blue Devils jumped on an unsuspecting Florida State team early behind back-to-back 3-point baskets from Cassius Stanley and Jordan Goldwire over the course of 47 seconds. The triples put Duke up 11-2 with 15 minutes to go in the half.

By the 10:47 mark, Duke had extended its lead to 21-11 behind a duo of 3-pointers from Matthew Hurt and two made baskets from Stanley and Alex O’Connell.

That start was critical for the Blue Devils’ success.

“It was big for us to get off to a good start tonight,” Tre Jones said. “After having only a day of rest, I know if we got ourselves into a hole tonight, physically it would be tough getting back into the game and then trying to extend a lead.”

Florida State was able to settle in not long after Duke took its biggest lead, but the cushion the Blue Devils were able to build paid off down the stretch.

Up to that point in the game, the Seminoles had no answer for Duke’s dribble drive. FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton unsurprisingly made critical adjustments soon after and from that point forward the game was a dogfight.

By the under-8 media timeout, FSU had cut Duke’s lead to five points, 21-16. Only twice more (both in the first half) was either team able to extend a lead beyond that - the biggest being seven point leads for Duke with 7:41 and 2:53 remaining.

Six of Duke’s 11 first half turnovers came over the final 9:36. All six were Florida State steals. In addition to the Seminoles’ ball-hawking defense, they blocked four shots. Duke was on the ropes, and the visitors were able to draw within one point, 33-32, at the half.

“They were clogging the lane,” Stanley said in response to why Duke started turning the ball over and getting their shots blocked. “They were making sure that our drives weren’t going to hurt them. With Vernon (Carey) they were doubling him on the backside."

Trent Forrest was the spark for FSU, scoring 12 of his 18 points in the first half. But as good as he was on offense, his defense was what brought the Seminoles back into the game. He finished the game with an incredible eight steals, five of which came in the first half alone. He also added a team-high nine rebounds and four assists.

It was his show for FSU, and Duke was aware that he had to be kept in check if they were to hold off the Seminoles.

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski had an answer for Forrest in the second half, though. After FSU jumped out to its first lead since the first minute of the game to open the second 20 minutes, Duke took a different approach.

Jones, who had been defending Forrest all night, and vice versa, was moved off the Florida State star. Goldwire was switched to him and that move alone kept Duke from falling victim to tired legs and the Seminoles’ physical and aggressive style of play.

“Switching Goldwire to Forrest was a key,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s a pro guard. He can defend, get by you. He’s a veteran. He and Tre were going back and forth and that was wearing Tre out. We needed Tre on offense. So the switch helped.”

Though Forrest was still a threat in the second half on the defensive end of the floor, Duke held him to just six points. On the flip side, Jones scored seven points and handed out three assists. Despite the numbers not being off the charts, he facilitated the offense and made it possible for Duke to run an effective motion set that allowed for his teammates to hit open shots.

In addition to his defense, Goldwire stepped up on offense for Duke, tying his career high with 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including three triples.

O’Connell, who played just six minutes in the first half, gave Duke perhaps its most crucial buckets of the game with 8:11 and 7:46 left in the game when he drilled a 2-pointer from the baseline and a 3-pointer to stop an FSU run.

The two shots re-energized the Blue Devils.

“At the end of the first half you could tell we were tired,” Krzyzewski said. “Second half, we were holding our own, but they went up 52-50 and we were ready to be knocked out. Then Alex came in and gave us five straight points.”

DeLaurier also credited O’Connell with bringing the team back to life.

“AO definitely came in and gave us a spark. That’s what he does. AO coming in and hitting those two big shots and really getting us going again, getting us energized, was a huge turning point.”O’Connell’s 3-pointer with 7:46 to go put Duke ahead 55-54. FSU quickly regained a two point lead on a Malik Osborne 3-pointer. But that was the last time Florida State would lead.

Duke’s legs returned and the team became the aggressor again.

Big shots from Carey, Goldwire, Jones and Moore kept Duke’s head above water over the next several minutes. But the play of DeLaurier and Hurt down the stretch sealed the victory.

DeLaurier, who was rotating in and out with Carey as offense-defense substitutions, had a seven second flurry that essentially won the game for Duke. After pulling down a huge defensive rebound, his sixth of the game, he was fouled and sent to the line for a one-and-one. He converted the first and knocked down the second.

Just like that, Duke was up 66-61 with 56 seconds to go. Moments later, he blocked Forrest’s layup, though FSU did get the offensive put-back. Despite that, the block gave Duke another energy boost late.

Then it was another unlikely hero, Matthew Hurt that finished the Seminoles off with an offensive rebound and four made free throws in the final 13 seconds.

“Matt was great the whole game,” Stanley said. “He came out firing, he came out aggressive, he came out strong. At the end that was a strong rebound, and great free throws.”

In the end, Duke overcame 21 turnovers to hold off Florida State. The Blue Devils return to the floor on Saturday when they host Notre Dame.