DUKE 78, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 73: Seth Curry scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half and Austin Rivers hit a pair of key 3-pointers as No. 4 Duke overcame a 20-point deficit to nip North Carolina State.

Rivers finished with 16 points and Mason Plumlee collected nine points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (22-4, 9-2 ACC), who went 20 for 38 at the free-throw line to overcome an 8-for-29 effort from beyond the arc.

North Carolina State (18-8, 7-4) led by as much as 61-41 after Lorenzo Brown hit a pair of free throws with 11:33 left. But the Wolfpack went cold from there, going four minutes without a point as Duke started to crawl back into the game.

Rivers’ 3-pointer with 6:03 left cut the deficit to single digits, 68-59, and kicked off a 22-5 burst that closed the game.

Another 3-pointer from Rivers with 2:29 left gave the Blue Devils their first lead of the game, 72-71.

Curry grabbed a defensive rebound with six seconds left and hit two free throws to seal the comeback win.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Brown scored 19 points to lead the Wolpack. … Duke shot 30.6 percent in the first half. … NC State faces No. 21 Florida State and No. 7 North Carolina in its next two games as it attempts to stay on the NCAA Tournament bubble.