Duke’s Flagg helped off court after spraining ankle

Duke star forward Cooper Flagg suffered an ankle sprain during Thursday’s 78-70 ACC Tournament quarterfinals win over Georgia Tech, head coach Jon Scheyer said postgame.

Scheyer said X-rays on Flagg’s ankle were negative but added he has a lot of swelling that they’ll work to manage, and it’s a “real long shot” he’ll play in tomorrow’s semifinal, according to freelance reporter Mike Barber.

Flagg suffered the injury while collecting an uncontested defensive rebound. He couldn’t put any weight on his leg as two teammates helped him off the court and into the locker room.

Flagg returned to Duke’s bench under his own power. He was ruled out for the remainder of the contest.

The 18-year-old recorded two points on 1-of-7 shooting and four rebounds before leaving the contest.

In addition, reserve big man Maliq Brown re-dislocated his shoulder Thursday, Scheyer said. Brown left the contest on a stretcher. He recently missed almost three weeks with the injury.

Georgia Tech led by as much as 14 points in the first half, but Duke cut the lead to five at halftime. The Blue Devils outscored the Yellow Jackets 52-39 in the second half.

Kon Knueppel led Duke in scoring with a career-high 28 points while recording eight assists. Isaiah Evans and Khaman Maluach both added 14 points.

Flagg averaged 19.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks in the regular season.

The Blue Devils’ star freshman is slated to be the top pick in the upcoming NBA draft. He recently became the fourth freshman in ACC history to win Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in the same season.

Duke takes on North Carolina in the ACC semifinals Friday.

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