DURHAM, N. Buy Shoes Black Friday .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. And sixth-ranked Duke needed every bit of that production to hold off East Carolina. Hood scored a career-high 30 points Tuesday night to help the Blue Devils beat the Pirates 83-74 in the NIT Season Tipoff. Parker had 21 points, nine rebounds and six blocks for the Blue Devils (4-1), who survived a tougher-than-expected fight from the underdog Pirates to improve to 24-2 all-time in the early season tournament. It was also the second game in as many nights for both teams, who were playing in a four-team pod at Dukes Cameron Indoor Stadium. "The last two nights, weve played our butts off," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "This is not about Duke not playing (well). ... Dont undersell what they did. We were ready and we played hard. I thought we brought great energy but so did they. This was a really good basketball game." Duke led by a point with about 7 minutes left but stayed in front and did enough in the final 2 1/2 minutes to turn away East Carolina (4-1), earning a trip to next weeks NIT semifinals for a matchup with Alabama in New Yorks Madison Square Garden. Hood, a 6-foot-8 sophomore transfer from Mississippi State, finished 8 for 10 from the field and hit all 12 of his free throws while playing nearly the entire 40 minutes. Parker made his biggest impact with a couple of key second-half plays, from taking a rebound all the way for a team-rousing dunk to blocking consecutive shots with his team protecting a 75-70 lead. "We couldnt scout them like we normally do and we tried not to stay in the gym last night and watch them play because we had a quick turnaround," Hood said. "But theyre a great team. Theyve got a lot of talent, especially for a mid-major. They played hard. They wasnt scared of us." The Blue Devils, who beat UNC Asheville 91-55 on Monday night, cooled off significantly after a hot start and shot 47 per cent, failing to reach at least 50 per cent for the first time this year. The Pirates had a much tougher time in their Tipoff opener, needing to rally from 17 down after halftime to beat Norfolk State 76-74. That game at Cameron marked a return to unfriendly surroundings for Pirates coach Jeff Lebo, who played for Dean Smith at hated rival North Carolina in the 1980s. Lebos team turned in a strong fight less than 24 hours later, but couldnt pull off a huge upset. "We can draw a lot from this -- our kids playing in this stage, this environment," Lebo said. "We dont get a chance to do that too often. We draw a lot of positives, and when we watch the tape, I think well get some confidence from that. "And then weve got to be able to build up on it. We cant say, Hey, we played well and were done for the year." Prince Williams scored 15 for the Pirates, who shot 40 per cent and helped themselves by hitting the offensive glass for a 16-3 edge in second-chance points. East Carolina fell to 0-21 all-time against Duke, though the Pirates flirted with earning their first win against a ranked opponent in nearly 11 years. Duke led by 18 points late in the first half after an 11-for-11 shooting start, but the Pirates didnt let the Blue Devils put together a knockout run. Instead, the Pirates closed the gap to 11 by halftime, and then kept inching closer and closer from there. East Carolina twice got within a point, the last coming on Williams free throws with 6:58 left, but never could push in front. Duke helped itself by playing with composure down the stretch, hitting all eight of its free throws in the final 2:34 to stay in control. Parker also came through with a big defensive sequence after his coast-to-coast dunk, swatting a leaner from Williams out of bounds and then stuffing a driving shot from Antonio Robinson with about 2 minutes left. Hood hit two free throws to make it 77-70, and East Carolina didnt get closer than five again. Duke finished 24 for 31 from the foul line, including 19 for 24 after halftime. The Blue Devils, who beat Florida Atlantic on Friday night, are off until Sunday, when they host Vermont. "Now weve got to rest," Krzyzewski said. "I mean, our guys are dead." Cheap Shoes Black Friday . Mesoraco hurt his hamstring while scoring from second in Friday nights 5-4 loss at Atlanta. Chapman was hit by a line drive during an exhibition game on March 19, breaking his nose and a bone above his left eye. The left-hander looked strong while throwing 43 pitches in batting practice before Saturday nights game against the Braves. Discount Shoes Black Friday . -- Antoine Bibeau bought the Val-dOr Foreurs valuable time at the Memorial Cup with his 51-save shutout Friday. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ . Tony Parker had 33 points and nine assists and San Antonio never trailed in a resounding 116-92 victory over Portland, bullying the younger Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.The Calgary Flames look to get back on the right track tonight when they square off against the Kings in Los Angeles. Goalie Karri Ramo was already scheduled to start tonights game and was forced into action on Friday night in a 5-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Reto Berra yielded five goals on 38 shots before getting lifted late in the third period, with Ramo turning aside all four shots he faced. "They just stormed around (Berras) net. I dont think any goalie would have made a difference. Theyre a big team, they crash the net, they generate lots of traffic and they took advantage of a couple of mistakes on our part," said Flames head coach Bob Hartley. Ladislav Smid and David Jones scored for the Flames, who have dropped three of their last four and gone just 2-7-2 in their previous 11. Calgary also saw its road losing streak versus Anaheim extended to 18 straight games as it played without Dennis Wideman, Sean Monahan, T.J. Galiardi, Curtis Glencross and Mark Giordano due to injury. Wideman and Monahan recently joined the list of walking wounded. The Kings aim to extend their point streak to a club-record 12 straight games. The Kings have gone 7-0-4 since their last regulation loss on Nov. 2 versus Nashville. Three of those setbacks have come in their past four games, however, including a 3-2 shootout setback to the San Josee Sharks on Wednesday. China Shoes Black Friday. Ben Scrivens made 38 saves through overtime and stopped six of the first seven skaters he faced in the shootout before failing to deny Joe Thorntons backhander in the eighth round. Tyler Toffoli then failed to extend the tiebreaker. "It was a fun game," said Scrivens, who picked up the first assist of his career. "Its my first time in San Jose. Its a loud rink, good fan support. Thats great for the league, we love to see that." In his second game back after being sidelined with a foot injury, Jeff Carter scored 18 seconds into the game and Drew Doughty also tallied to help extend the Kings string of consecutive games with a point. The run currently matches the longest point streak in team history; a 9-0-2 run in 1973-74 and an 8-0-3 burst in 2010-11. Scrivens has never faced the Flames, with injured netminder Jonathan Quick making 22 saves in a 3-2 loss at home to Calgary on Oct. 21. Los Angeles had won four straight and was 8-1-1 in its previous 10 versus Calgary going into that game and had a two-game series home win streak snapped. Like Wednesday, Carter and Doughty had the goals for the Kings, while T.J. Brodie had the winner with 30 seconds to play for the Flames. Mike Cammalleri had a goal and an assist, while Ramo made 27 saves in his career start versus the Kings. ' ' '