Kyle Singler had 24 points and Ryan Kelly added a career-high 20 as No. 5 Duke fended off an early challenge from struggling Wake Forest for an 83-59 victory Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Duke (18-1, 5-1 ACC) led 44-40 with 17:36 left in the game, but Singler scored the next six points as the Blue Devils pulled away for their third straight win.

Kelly was 6 for 6 from the field and 4 of 4 from 3-point range. Nolan Smith added 19 points, despite being held to 2-for-12 shooting in the first half.

Travis McKie had 12 points and nine rebounds to lead Wake (7-13, 0-5 ACC), which lost its fifth straight and ninth in 10 games.

The Demon Deacons had beaten Duke two straight and five of the last six at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem. They had visions of making it three straight over the Blue Devils early in the game as they made three of their first four 3-pointers to race out to an 18-13 lead.

The Blue Devils countered with a 14-2 run to take control. Kelly had five of his team-high 12 first-half points during that run, and Singler had four of his 11. Duke pushed the lead to as much as 12, but settled for a 41-32 lead at half.