Players were knocked to the floor 20 times, a list that included Duncan, who was elbowed in the chin, and Clemson's Andrius Jurkunas, who took a forearm to the head and spent several minutes on the bench with an ice bag covering his face.
Wake Forest (20-2 overall) secured its school-record fifth-consecutive 20-win season and improved its Atlantic Coast Conference-leading mark to 9-2.
Clemson (7-4 ACC, 19-5 overall) was held to 28-percent shooting.
The Tigers rallied after making only one basket in a long span bridging the first and second halves and took a 38-37 lead on a 3-pointer by Terrell McIntyre with 8:44 left.
Merl Code hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute and wound up with 12 points, making him the only player in double figures for Clemson.
Michigan State 69, Iowa 67
Antonio Smith's basket with 1.7 seconds remaining broke a tie and lifted Michigan State to a 69-67 victory over Iowa in a Big Ten game.
Mateen Cleaves' driving layup was tipped by the Hawkeyes' Ryan Bowen, but the ball went to Smith, who laid it in for the winning basket.
Cleaves led the Spartans with 15 points and a career-high 10 assists, while Ray Weathers added 14 points.
Kent McCausland led Iowa with 18 points, all on 3-pointers, while freshman Guy Rucker added a career-high 17 and Andre Woolridge finished with 16.
Iowa (7-4 Big Ten,16-7 overall) has dropped four-straight road games.
The victory ended a three-game home losing streak for the Spartans (5-6,12-8)
The Hawkeyes trailed 42-26 at halftime, but got back into the game on the outside shooting of McCausland and Woolridge and the inside play of Rucker, who had 11 points in the second half.
A 21-6 Iowa run that was capped by a 3-pointer by McCausland with 6:21 remaining, gave the Hawkeyes a 60-58 advantage - their first lead since early in the first half.
AP PHOTO
Wake Forest slipped by Clemson in a brutal game that included 20 knockdowns.