Duke wins critical game at Georgia Tech without Coach K

Duke gave Mike Krzyzewski the best get-well gift possible.

The Blue Devils halted their recent slide by rallying from a four-point halftime deficit to defeat Georgia Tech 80-71 on Tuesday night in Atlanta.

Duke's victory came just a few hours after the school announced Krzyzewski would not be on the sideline Tuesday night because he was feeling "under the weather." Doctors at Duke University Hospital evaluated him and advised him to stay behind in Durham rather than travel to Georgia Tech for the game.

Duke associate head coach Jeff Capel coached the Blue Devils on Tuesday in a game of great significance for the program. Having already lost four of its last five games to fall out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in nearly nine years, Duke (16-6, 5-4) could not afford to drop another against a team in the lower half of the ACC standings.

Georgia Tech had already tripped up VCU and Virginia in Atlanta earlier this season, but Duke managed to avoid becoming another upset victim. Grayson Allen scored 27 points to lead the Blue Devils offense and Capel made a shrewd decision to switch from zone to man-to-man in the second half, preventing Georgia Tech from getting so many easy baskets at the rim and forcing the Yellowjackets to take jumpers.

Krzyzewski is expected back on the Duke sideline as soon as Saturday's home game against NC State. With two games against Louisville, two games against North Carolina and a game against Virginia still remaining on their ACC schedule, that's another game the Blue Devils can ill afford to lose.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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