Duke loses for 1st time this season as its top trio falters\nDURHAM, N.C. -- When Duke needed a basket, J.J. Redick tried to deliver.\nThe streaky scorer took 3-pointers, stepped inside the arc for midrange jumpers and even drove to the basket. Very few of his shots went in as Maryland's stifling defense sent the Blue Devils to their first loss.\n"Part of it was that we didn't have balance," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "If we were scoring inside, they wouldn't be that tight on him."\nBut center Shelden Williams also struggled, going 6-of-15 from the field. Guard Daniel Ewing, the second-leading scorer, offered little help. He failed to reach double figures for only the second time this season.\nWith the "Big Three" -- what Coach K calls his trio of leaders -- limited offensively, second-ranked Duke had no answer for the Terrapins in a 75-66 loss Wednesday night.\n"We had missed opportunities throughout the game," Krzyzewski said. "Whether it was on breaks or when we had the ball inside so many times and just came up empty. We just can't keep doing that."\nThe majority of those chances came from Redick, Williams and Ewing, who combined to shoot 33 percent (16-of-48). They had 15 turnovers among them, led by Redick's season-high eight. Most of those came when he was forced to abandon his catch-and-shoot method that works so well. He had two in a span of seconds down the stretch with the Blue Devils trailing 64-62.
Karl thankful to be back in NBA with Nuggets\nDENVER -- George Karl had been involved with basketball since the seventh grade, so not having it in his life for nearly two years left him feeling empty.\nNow that he's headed back to the NBA, Karl has a greater appreciation for what the game has meant to him.\nOut of the NBA since the Bucks fired him in 2003, Karl was back in Milwaukee on Thursday to take over as coach of the underachieving Denver Nuggets. He's expected to be on the bench Friday night, making his debut with the Nuggets against his former team.\n"The last 18 months was the first time I was not with a basketball team for 38 years," Karl said. "I now realize how fun and what a privilege it is to be with a basketball team."\nThe Nuggets hope his enthusiasm rubs off.\nOne of the favorites in the Western Conference at the start of the season, Denver hasn't lived up to the expectations that came with adding All-Star power forward Kenyon Martin to a team that had reached the playoffs for the first time in nine years.\nPlagued by injuries and inconsistencies, the Nuggets got off to a horrible start and haven't really recovered. Coach Jeff Bzdelik lost his job Dec. 28 and Denver has been only marginally better under interim coach Michael Cooper, entering Friday's game 17-25 and 12 and a half games out of first place in the Northwest Division.\nKarl brings plenty of credibility, ranking 13th all-time with 708 wins and leading his teams to five division titles and 13 playoff appearances in 16 seasons. He has also had experience turning around underachieving teams.
