SAN ANTONIO — Eyes determined, knees bent, Cooper Flagg held the ball on the wing and waited for the ideal moment to attack.
He had one chance to erase a one-point deficit, one chance to preserve Duke’s flickering title hopes, one chance to erase the memory of a stunning late-game collapse.
At first, Flagg drove left and got Houston’s J’Wan Roberts on his hip, but a help defender stepped into his path. Flagg then backed Roberts down, turned over his left shoulder and used his off hand to create some space. The short pull-up jumper that Flagg attempted is one that he has hit dozens of times this season.