DURHAM The deficit was 14 at halftime, and Kendall Marshall was busy swinging the balance of power in the ACC away from Duke and toward North Carolina. Then Nolan Smith and Seth Curry went out and yanked it right back.

It'll take some time and perspective to figure out where this particular game ranks in the recent entries in the rivalry. In the heat of the moment, it feels like it'll go pretty high. The way North Carolina dominated the first half made Duke's eventual comeback for a 79-73 win all the more improbable, not to mention delicious for Duke fans.

Marshall sliced apart the Duke defense to run the Tar Heels' lead to 16 before Curry and Smith took over, combining for 40 of Duke's 50 second-half points - Smith with his usual array of drives, jumpers and long-range shots for a career-high 34 total, Curry firing away from the perimeter for 22.

After turning back the Tar Heels, the Blue Devils now control their own destiny in the ACC. At 9-1, they're a loss ahead of 7-2 North Carolina. It'll probably come down to the March 5 game at the Smith Center, but a season that began with Duke lengths ahead of the pack is now in its final month as anyone's race - and with that lead down to a neck.

It began as such a strange night at Cameron Indoor, with echoes of that 14-point North Carolina win in 2009 behind the fleet feet of Ty Lawson. That team was full of veterans, with Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Green running their record at Cameron to 4-0. This North Carolina team, so much less so.

Yet Harrison Barnes and Marshall betrayed no fear, Barnes dragging two Duke defenders to the basket late in the first half, drawing Smith's second foul in the process and converting the three-point play.

Duke's experience would be telling, even if a rookie to this rivalry put the Blue Devils over the top. Kyle Singler never really got going, but Smith more than made up for it.

And Curry, who had four points at the half, hit shots on three straight possessions to erase a 54-47 deficit and tie the score for the first time.

That ended a run of 24 straight points for Smith and Curry, with Ryan Kelly hitting a 3-pointer to put Duke ahead for good, although North Carolina would keep it as close as three with 25 seconds to go.

While Duke was busy reinforcing its position as the ACC leader, Smith was doing the same with his case for player-of-the-year honors, both in the league and nationally. He had a decent first half, but was all but unstoppable in the second.

It didn't help North Carolina that Dexter Strickland picked up three fouls in the first half, leaving an already-undermanned backcourt even less equipped to handle Smith.

So at this moment, it's advantage Duke. It would be silly to assume it has to stay that way.

North Carolina is 5-1 since Marshall entered the starting lineup, and the Tar Heels have been a different team since Larry Drew II fled - mercifully, as it turns out.

They had a chance to win Wednesday, but were undone by, clearly, the best player in the ACC.

Where these teams will stand when they meet again is anyone's guess, but one thing is clear after Wednesday night: The balance of power in the ACC remains with Duke. For now, anyway.