For 29 minutes, Arizona hung around.

The Wildcats matched Duke run for run. They looked like they could play with the top-seeded Blue Devils.

Then, in a snap, Cooper Flagg and Co. ran away and hid, landing the kind of sudden haymaker few teams, if any, in the country can handle.

It only took 4:39 of game action for Duke to make it clear the fourth-seeded Wildcats wouldn’t stay with them. By the end of this 20-5 burst, the Blue Devils led by 15 and a spot in the Elite Eight was all but assured.

Of course, Flagg led the way, scoring five points and dishing out four assists in the run, as Duke moved on with a 100-93 victory at Prudential Center.

They will meet No. 2 Alabama in a fascinating East Regional final on Saturday.

“That was one of the best tournament performances I’ve ever coached or been a part of,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “Just how he was with you guys, that’s how he is. He just did what he was supposed to do, and he’ll move on and get ready for Alabama. I think that’s the beauty of it with him. He doesn’t get caught up in all that.”

With 46 seconds left in the first half, Arizona pulled even on a Caleb Love 3-pointer.

At that point, it felt like Duke had enough. No more playing around.

Kon Knueppel, one of three projected Duke one-and-done lottery picks, hit a 3-pointer and Flagg beat the buzzer with one of his own to send the Blue Devils into the half with momentum.

“We talk about inflection points, and the end of the half is a really big inflection point,” Knueppel said. “So it was a tie ballgame, and [we] hit two 3s that gave us a bunch of momentum coming into the second half.”

Out of the break, they put the hammer down.

Flagg went from scorer to playmaker.

He split a double-team to set up Sion James for a wide-open 3-pointer.

Three times, he drove into the teeth of the Arizona defense and threw successful lobs to Khaman Maluach.

Flagg, the presumptive first overall pick in the NBA Draft, was dominant, finishing with 30 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three blocks.

He became just the sixth freshman with a game of at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in the Sweet 16 or later since 1984.

But what has made Duke so tough is there is so much more to them than Flagg.

There was the 7-foot-2 Maluach owning the paint, notching 13 points, six rebounds and four blocks, and Knueppel adding 20.

Sion James, a sharpshooting Tulane transfer, chipped in 16.

The Blue Devils shot 60 percent from the field as a team and hit 11 3-pointers against Arizona, which entered the night with a top 30 defense efficiency-wise.

The Wildcats got within six with 7:47 left on the strength of an 8-0 run, and were down just five after a Carter Bryant 3-pointer with 1:56 left.

But they couldn’t get any closer.

Love led Arizona with 35 points.

“What I’ve wanted from him is not to defer,” Scheyer said of Flagg. “I’ve just wanted him to fully be him, and I thought he was that. He was in his element tonight. He was him.”Flagg put on a show in the first half, scoring 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting along with four rebounds and two assists. He got inside for easy baskets, he scored in the midrange and also hit a pair of 3-pointers. That included a 25-foot buzzer-beater that gave Duke a six-point lead at the break.

It was an unforced error by Love, who shot early, giving Flagg just enough time to beat the horn.

Love had a strong opening 20 minutes otherwise, scoring 14 points and sinking three 3-pointers.

Arizona started well, building an early four-point lead.

Then came a 5:35 scoring drought, in which Duke ran off 11 consecutive points. Love ended it with a deep and contested 3-pointer.

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The Wildcats were fortunate to be so close at intermission, considering Duke shot a blistering 61.3 percent from the field, made seven 3-pointers and committed only three turnovers.

Arizona stayed close by making 11-of-13 at the free-throw line and hitting seven 3s of its own.

The second half started in ominous fashion for Love.

He missed everything on a deep 3-pointer and Maluach produced a three-point play on the other end, and the lead was nine.

It grew to 12 when Flagg split a double-team and James hit a wide-open 3 from the left corner.