Not one person expected the Duke basketball victory over Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals to be as chaotic as it became.
As if the Blue Devil 14-point deficit in the first half was not enough, superstar defensive center Maliq Brown dislocated his shoulder again in the final minutes prior to halftime. He came off the floor with 4:58 remaining in an immense amount of pain, not even able stand up straight.
He was quickly ruled out of the game, and it was later revealed that Duke needed to put him on a stretcher and send him to the hospital for further evaluation.
“Maliq was in a lot of pain,” head coach Jon Scheyer said after the 78-70 victory that punched Duke’s ticket to the conference semifinals.
“He re-dislocated his shoulder.”
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer gives updates on Maliq Brown and Cooper Flagg's injuries ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Yew3FEMZZG
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 13, 2025
Brown did not record a statistic in the six minutes that he was on the floor, but Duke was able to outscore the Yellow Jackets by 13 points in the second half.
The Syracuse transfer missed four games earlier in the season with a toe injury before initially dislocating his shoulder on February 17 in a victory over Virginia. He would return on March 8 in the regular season finale against North Carolina, playing 16 minutes with eight points, three rebounds, and three assists.
“We got him a stretcher just to tolerate the pain. He was in a lot of pain. He’s at the hospital now, we’ll figure out how he’s doing.”
Scheyer said he was planning to visit Brown in the hospital after he finished his media obligations.
Duke got a much-needed boost from starting center Khaman Maluach in the second half with 12 points and five rebounds as he finished the victory with 14 points and nine rebounds.
The Blue Devils will play either Wake Forest or North Carolina in the ACC Tournament Semifinals on Friday night (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN), but could be missing Maliq Brown for the remainder of its season.
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