DURHAM, N.C. --- Just another ACC game for No. 1 Duke?

No chance. Not at this time in the Duke-Maryland series, not when No. 3 Maryland had won two straight at Cameron over the past two seasons, not when the Terps came into Duke as confident as they would if the game were at Cole Field House. Not when Jason Williams is around to punish the Terps if they're going to challenge him to drive on them and try to take away his 3-point shot.

	Jason Williams, Chris Duhon and the rest of the Blue Devils were emotional Thursday.

No, this was no ordinary game -- this was the Blue Devils' chance to say they're not going away in the ACC or national title race, their chance to prove they can beat teams in a variety of ways.

Duke's players kept pumping up the crowd, just as coach Mike Krzyzewski did during the Georgia Tech game last week, when he called on the Cameron Crazies to get the players jacked up after losing at Florida State. This time, the players didn't wait for Krzyzewski to do it; he never had to lift his hands. This time, the crowd was into it from well before the first tip, making this game like the best of the Duke-North Carolina games with a buzz humming prior to tipoff.

With about a minute left in Duke's 99-78 victory, Krzyzewski pulled his starters and did a fist slap with each guy, showing he was down with the new high five. The players hugged, and bumped chests as if this were more than the fifth game of the ACC, regardless of what was said after the game. This one was emotional, and it had to be because the consequences for Duke with a loss would have been a two-game deficit to the Terps with the rematch at Cole Field House on Feb. 17.

"This was a great game, a hell of a game," Duke's Carlos Boozer said. "It was a great game between two top-five teams who could be in the Final Four. We haven't won here against them the last two years. We had to get it and it could have easily gone the other way. Once we got the momentum, we got emotional and got the stops."

Maryland got punished in the second half, but the Terps weren't pouting afterward, not when they're still tied with Duke and Wake Forest atop the ACC with one loss apiece after playing three of their first four conference games on the road.

"We didn't score. It's that simple, but it's true," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "The last two years we had scored enough. We couldn't score like that in the second half and our energy wasn't as good and you pay for it here."

Maryland is a more mature team this season and the Terps will likely bounce back quickly, and possibly waste Clemson on Sunday at Cole Field House because of the sting of this loss.

Maryland's problems are fixable. The Terps simply got beat to the basket by exceptional players in Williams and Mike Dunleavy. At the other end, they didn't convert enough shots close to the hoop.

Duke discovered more about itself in this win than Maryland learned in the loss, however. The Blue Devils' offense isn't just about 3's, and never has been even if they statistically score 30 percent of their points from beyond the arc and 51 percent overall on 3-pointers and free throws. No, the Blue Devils always could score by simply driving past a defender, especially when the ball is in Williams' hands, and they proved it to themselves Thursday.

Williams finished with 34 points in 34 minutes. He averages three 3's and eight 3-point attempts, but was a modest 1-for-4 on 3-pointers Thursday night. Instead of settling for long shots, Williams went to his money move Thursday, the power dribble and "see ya later" drive.

Williams didn't always finish, but he got to the bucket without a problem, getting a layup, a pass for points, free throws or simply just pounding into Maryland's heads that he can't be stopped.

"Jason was huge. He gave us the confidence and he played like a great player," Krzyzewski said. "A lot of kids put up numbers in other games, but he puts them up in a great game. It takes a great player to do that."

We knew that. But Williams keeps changing the explanation as to exactly why he's a great player. He made the 3's to beat Kentucky earlier this season. This time, he got the basket because Maryland's defense either gave it to him or he just took whatever gap he saw. He said it wasn't planned, he just saw the opening.

"We thought where we had the advantage was we could drive," Krzyzewski said. "As the game progressed we could spread them out and we got more drives. Jason's drives were courageous. He wasn't always rewarded with a basket or a foul, but he kept going. His demeanor was so positive that it was a lot easier for the other guys to be positive."

Krzyzewski said Williams' leadership has been tremendous the past few weeks and his floor game has continued to improve.

"It was obvious they couldn't stop Jason's penetration," Boozer said. "He would get a layup, get fouled or shoot free throws. But we're still a 3-point shooting team. If we're open we're going to take them, but they couldn't stop the drive. We kept going to it and we were effective. Usually we just stay behind the line, and today we just mixed it up more."

Duke made just five of 15 3-pointers and still won by 21.

"Jason was more of a playmaker today," Duke's Dahntay Jones said. "Jason was the best I've seen him as a driver. He usually shoots a lot of 3's and today he took what they gave him and he dominated them."

And if that wasn't enough, Dunleavy shook off a blow to his head and a two-point first half to finish with another remarkable 21 points.

Duke continued to score in the second half, when Maryland couldn't. Sometimes it was because the Terps missed shots, but the credit goes as much to Duke's defense. Jones was a monster on defense for Duke, flustering Juan Dixon (2-for-9 shooting for just 10 points) and stuffing Lonny Baxter (24 points in 27 minutes) on a dunk attempt.

In the preseason, Duke's former defensive player of the year Shane Battier said Jones could replace him as Duke's top defender. He said he saw enough of him last season to form that opinion.

"Shane did help me a lot last season and showed me how he saw the game," Jones said. "I learned a lot from that and tried to bring as much of that to this season as I could."

When Jones exited, assistant coach Chris Collins practically gave him a headlock he was so excited about his defensive performance.

Collins' exuberance was the same everyone on the Duke bench had when each player left the court. This one meant more to the Blue Devils. It had to this season, especially at Duke.

"It was a great experience," Jones said. "I enjoyed every minute of it. I feel our guys really put their hearts on the line and played with great intensity and it worked out for us."

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.