Hartford – Different Husky heroes seem to step up to save the day in almost every game.

Cam Spencer and Donovan Clingan wore the capes on Tuesday.

Thanks to their terrific efforts, No. 1 UConn extended its winning streak to 11 straight and improved to 13-0 at home with 71-62 victory over Butler before a sold-out XL Center crowd.

Spencer provided a perimeter punch and Clingan controlled the inside, finishing with 20 and 18 points, respectively. Clingan also had a career-high 14 rebounds to give him his first double-double this season.

With all five starters owning double figure scoring averages, the Huskies (21-2, 11-1) have a wealth of offensive options.

“They’ve got all the pieces, there’s no question about that,” Butler coach Thad Matta said. “You take one thing away, somebody else does something. They’re not a good team, they’re a great team.”

UConn has never lost to Butler (15-8, 6-6), winning all nine meetings including an 88-81 decision on the road on Jan. 5.

The Huskies never trailed but also never felt comfortable until redshirt sophomore Alex Karaban drained a 3-pointer to stretch their lead to 11 with one minute, 15 seconds remaining. Karaban was back in the starting lineup after sitting out the St. John’s game on Saturday with a sprained ankle.

Playing at about 80 percent, Karaban lacked his usual production. Fellow starters Tristen Newton and Stephon Castle also struggled at times. All three scored in single digits, below their season averages.

But key contributions from Clingan, Spencer and reserve guard Hassan Diarra more than made up for their teammates’ shortcomings.

“Donovan had a huge impact on the game,” coach Dan Hurley said. “Cam bailed us out offensively and I thought Hass was really good off the bench.”

Clingan, who battled foul trouble the previous two games, took charge from the start. He chipped in 12 points in the first half and finished with just one foul overall.

He scored perhaps the game’s biggest basket, converting an offensive rebound while being fouled with just under two minutes left. He made the free throw to extend the lead to 66-58. Karaban followed with his big 3-pointer.

And the Huskies could finally exhale.

“I wasn’t happy with my last two performances and I came in with a better mindset,” Clingan said. “I just realized that I had to kill my opponent and do whatever I can to help my team win.”

The Huskies really needed Clingan and Spencer.

They also needed Diarra.

When Newton limped off the court after falling while making a spin move at the 6:22 mark of the first half, Diarra entered the game and immediately sparked the Huskies. Newton eventually returned before halftime and finished with nine points.

Diarra scored all nine of his points in the first half. His driving layup started a 9-2 run and he ended it by feeding Clingan for a fastbreak basket for a 30-18 lead. His three free throws increased the gap to 14.

“I wanted to bring my same effort that I bring each and every game and each and every day,” Diarra said of his goal coming off the bench. “I wanted to make winning plays out there and whatever the team needed at the moment.”

But nothing came easy on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs, who already owned road wins over nationally-ranked Marquette and Creighton, closed the gap to 35-27 by halftime behind the play of guard DJ Davis who finished with a team-best 21 points.

Davis capped a personal 11-0 run with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 35-32 early in the second half.

UConn had trouble putting away Butler, which stuck around despite converting just 37.3% percent from the field.

Castle kept the Huskies ahead by hitting momentum-turning baskets and drained four 3-pointers overall. It was the second straight game that Castle hit the 20-point mark. He scored 23 in Saturday’s win at St. John’s.

“I’m just trying to make winning plays, and I think we all do,” Spencer said. “That’s why we’ve been successful so far and hopefully can continue to be. Just the unselfishness of the group and making the right play every time down the court, that’s what it is all about.”

The Huskies relied on their stingy defense to secure the victory, holding a seventh straight opponent to under 68 points. The Bulldogs came in averaging 81.6 points.

“We won it with our defense,” Hurley said.

Now they’ll get some time to heal up and rest.

After playing four games in nine days, they will be off until playing Georgetown on Saturday in Washington, D.C. They remain in first place in the Big East.

“We weren’t at our standard today,” Hurley said. “None of us is thrilled with the way we played. Credit them. But we also made it extra hard on ourselves. But we also don’t want to rub the joy out of doing what we’ve done to this point. We’ve won our 11th straight league games and have done incredible things.”

g.keefe@theday.com