Celtics defeat Spurs by a slim margin of 121-116

After losing the first two games of the tour in disappointing ways, the Celtics overcame San Antonio and finished the trip 2-2 before returning home. They raised their league-best performance to 28-12, but playing San Antonio, who is in rebuilding mode, seemed trickier than it should have been.

Zach Collins, Tre Jones, and Josh Richardson all scored 18 points for the feisty Spurs, who leveled the score at 116-116 on Richardson's three-pointer with 37.4 seconds left. With 33 seconds left, Jayson Tatum hit the game-winning shot to score 34 points, Jaylen Brown contributed 29.

During a free throw attempt during the first half, Tatum was chatted up with "MVP! MVP!" chants. It was  Williams though, who clinched the victory with an alley-oop with 48.7 seconds remaining and subsequently stopped the Spurs from having a chance to tie the game.