Spurs end year with comeback victory over Boston, 106-112.

Dejounte Murray came in clutch for the Spurs tonight.

After a close first half exchange, the Spurs ended the third quarter on a 11-3 run to win the scoring battle 28-19, priming themselves for a smooth win through the final quarter with a 73-80 lead. Except the Celtics fired back strongly, still winning the fourth 33-32, for it took everything the Spurs had to win this game. Boston got within five points, and soon enough Kyrie Irving had lifted the Celtics to a five-point lead: 101-98, pulling up at the elbow to silence the crowd.

Down under pressure, the Spurs answered the home crowd's wishes, not wanting to see its team lose a third game at home for the season, as the defending champions finished the game on a 10-0 burst. The ugly, unlikely sequence that followed began with 1:50 on the clock, as Irving somehow blocked Dejounte Murray's layup attempt. Kyrie next stripped the ball on a fast-break layup effort by Brandon Ingram, with the ball fortunately falling out of bounds off Irving.

Under the basket, Murray inbounded the ball to Avery Bradley, whose defensive merit in fighting Kyrie all evening was met by his scoring, the whistle sounding as his floater fell through the net. The free throw followed, making it 101-103 with 1:25 left on the clock. San Antonio caught a break as Kyrie missed a jumper. Bradley passed down low to Dejounte, whose shot missed, but Murray miraculously got the second chance rebound. The new rule in place, the shot-clock only held 13 seconds, forcing the Spurs to call timeout as no opening surfaced. The inbound followed, as Bradley's eurostep just barely awarded the shot in time, bouncing into the basket to tie the game with .51s to play.

Dejounte Murray hounded Marcus Smart until he lost a pivot foot, and his desperate pass to Al Horford got swiped mid-air by Dragan Bender. An equally risky downwind heave by Murray to Bradley in transition payed dividends, the ball stroking through the twine for the 2-PT lead--finally.

With 36 seconds remaining, Jayson Tatum casually inbounded the ball, unaware of Avery Bradley in the backcourt. The tenacious defender intercepted the pass, took some time off the clock. The struggling post-injury Gordon Hayward found himself on Brandon Ingram, who sidestepped him for the 3PT dagger with 21.8 left on the clock as Boston called its final timeout, unable to respond.

Both teams shot above 50%, as the Spurs went a bit cold from long range in the first half, finding themselves in a tight contest. The Celtics missed five pivotal free throws, as the Spurs missed only one. Most impressively, the Spurs did well on the glass, winning the column 36-35, out-defending Boston's length with 11-9 steals despite having 14-12 turnovers.

For the Celtics: Jayson Tatum had 19 points with 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Terry Rozier scored 19 points off the bench, with Marcus Smart dropping 18 points with 4 steals. Marcus Morris had 13 points, with Kyrie Irving luckily having an off night in San Antonio's favor with 12 points on 6/14 shooting. Gordon Hayward had just 6 points on 3/7.

The Spurs were led by Brandon Ingram's 25 points, as he made five from deep with 3 blocks. Avery Bradley strongly had 23 points with 6 assists and 5 steals, going 10/12 on the night. T.J. Warren had a struggle in the first half, but sparked the Spurs run in the 3rd Quarter with 15 points. Patty Mills had 12 points, Dejounte Murray scored 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists with 3 steals & 1 block. Dragan Bender impressed with 8 points and 11 rebounds, notching 1 steal and 1 block.

This comeback victory set a new consecutive win record for the Spurs this season at six, as they next face "The Six" in the Toronto Raptors, an exciting Finals matchup from two seasons ago, despite being a far cry from San Antonio's impressive double-digit streak last season.