NEW YORK – The question seemed to take R.J. Barrett by surprise for a second.

“Is that the best you’ve seen Tre play in a game?” the Duke freshman was asked Thursday night, after the Blue Devils, sparked by their Minnesota-bred point guard, survived a very tough test against Texas Tech, 69-58.

“I don’t know, he plays like that every game,” Barrett said with a laugh. “Every game he’s that good, he does that all the time. Maybe it’s more noticeable in these big games, but he’s always that good.”

Jones was that good Thursday, and he’s probably the biggest reason Duke was able to overcome an atrocious long-range shooting night and beat No. 12 Texas Tech. Jones recorded six steals, had just one turnover, and time and again bailed Duke out on offense, scoring 13 points and dishing out five assists.

“He’s relentless man, he’s just relentless,” forward Jack White said of his point guard. “I can’t say enough about Tre, he’s a winner and a fighter and was so huge for us tonight, and every night.”

Jones, with his longtime buddy, Philadelphia 76ers star Jimmy Butler sitting courtside, was for a long time the only good thing about the Blue Devils’ offense Thursday. Stymied by Texas Tech’s length (“we’re just used to getting to the rim when we want to, and they always had someone there,” Barrett said) and with Williamson struggling with foul trouble, Jones was the primary engine of the Duke offense.

He made 6-of-15 from the floor, but it was when he made his shots that mattered. His best sequence, and one that maybe started the Duke comeback, began with 13:35 left and the Blue Devils down eight, 42-34.

Jones hit a driving layup to cut the deficit to six, then after a Red Raiders miss, Jones got the rebound and sank a pull-up jumper from the lane to bring the Duke fans at MSG alive.

On the very next play, Jones took a charge on Texas Tech’s Kyler Edwards near midcourt. Jones leaped up and roared, and the Blue Devils soon would take the lead for good.

“That charge was huge,” Williamson said. “He gave us what we needed.”

“Our team just needed a spark,” Jones said. “We were flat, we didn’t have a lot of energy, and we needed someone to start making plays, and my teammates set me up for those.”

Jones’ humility aside, his emergence as an offensive force can only help Duke on nights that Barrett (7-22 FGs) and Cam Reddish struggle.

And his defense, which helped Duke hold Texas Tech without a field goal for the final 6:22, was also disruptive.

CAN ANYONE MAKE A 3? Three-point shooting has been a hallmark of Duke under Coach K; so many brilliant shooters have come through the program, from Johnny Dawkins, Trajan Langdon, J.J. Redick and too many others to name.

Some years there are a ton of marksmen on the team, other years it’s 1-2 players who excel behind the arc and carry the team.

But Thursday night nobody on Duke could make a 3-pointer at all, for most of the game.

Jack White finally made a 3 for Duke, with 11:10 left in the game, after Duke missed its first 15 3-point attempts.

“It felt good to see the ball go through the net, because we had been so close,” White said.

“It was like a weight lifted,” Barrett said with a smile.

In case you were wondering, the last time Duke didn’t make a 3-pointer in a game was Dec. 30, 1989, the penultimate day of the 1980s, when the Blue Devils beat Hawaii, 87-75 in Honolulu.

But Duke only attempted four 3-pointers that day. Thursday night against the Red Raiders Duke went 3-for-20.

REDDISH NOT ON POINT: Duke freshman Cam Reddish came in with almost as much hype as his fellow freshmen R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson, but after an outstanding start to the season, the freshman has struggled offensively in recent games.

Thursday night he looked totally out of sync on offense, shooting 1-for-7 and making six turnovers for the Blue Devils. Reddish played only 20:31, but did play well on defense for Duke.

Reddish did hit a huge shot in the final minutes though, a 3-pointer from the right corner to put Duke up 63-57 with 3:21 left. And he made 5-of-6 free throws for Duke.

“He’s the best shooter on our team, that was a big shot that we needed,” Barrett said.

Mike Krzyzewski was pleased Reddish hung tough and made the key foul shots.

“It was probably better for him than going for 20 tonight, when he did what he did after what he didn’t do,” Krzyzewski said.

NEW YORK NOT FOR THIS AUSSIE: It’s become easy to take Jack White for granted, but the junior forward continued to do all the little things his team needs. Thursday he scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds, and guarded Tech star Jarrett Culver for much of the night. Culver finished with a game-high 25, but most of those were hard-earned. White also came up with a big steal in the final minutes.

And while he said he was excited to play at Madison Square Garden for the first time, he doesn’t think he could live here.

“I enjoy the experience and I’m soaking it in, but I don’t think I could live here,” White said with a laugh.

“A kid like me growing up in the country, I don’t think I could handle it. But it’s nice to visit.”