Nolan Smith sparked a first-half surge with 13 consecutive points, and No. 1 Duke opened Atlantic Coast Conference play Sunday with a 74-63 victory over Miami (Fla.) in Durham, N.C. Smith led the Blue Devils (13-0, 1-0 ACC) with 28 points. The senior guard scored 13 points in a row during a 3:14 stretch late in the first half for the defending national champions.

The Hurricanes (11-4, 0-1 ACC), who won four in a row and eight of nine coming in, had pulled within 22-20 on Raphael Akpejiori’s free throw with 5:16 left before halftime. Sparked by Smith, the Blue Devils closed the half with a 15-4 run to build a 37-24 advantage.

Smith started the run with a jumper with 5:06 left in the half. He hit three 3-pointers in a row and added a dunk with 1:52 left in the half, giving Duke a 35-22 advantage. Miami never drew closer than nine points in the second half as Duke extended its winning streak to 23 games.

Andre Dawkins scored 16 points for the Blue Devils off the bench. Kyle Singler added 14 points. Reggie Johnson led Miami – which shot just 37.5 percent – with 22 points. Malcolm Grant scored 11 points and Durand Scott added 10.

The Blue Devils step out of ACC action to play host to Alabama-Birmingham on Wednesday, then plays host to conference foe Maryland on Sunday. Miami plays Saturday at Clemson.