LAS VEGAS — San Antonio's Shannon Scott hit a desperation runner at the buzzer to give the Spurs a 95-93 win over the Celtics in the quarterfinals of the Las Vegas Summer League.
Boston (4-1) rallied from a 7-point deficit with 2:01 left, tying the score when rookie first-round pick Terry Rozier made a 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left.
Scott gathered the inbounds pass near midcourt, frantically dribbled, and released a runner just before the buzzer sounded, ending the Boston run.
The Celtics looked tired and slow on defense after taking a 2-point lead at halftime, allowing the Spurs to go on a 16-0 run and take a 60-47 lead. Boston then used baskets by Malcolm Miller and R.J. Hunter to make a run late in the third and continued to chip away in the fourth.
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Rozier hit a jumper, Hunter followed with a streaking layup, and Rozier thrilled the crowd with a stepback 3-pointer for the tying basket. Rozier finished with 6 points on 2-for-12 shooting while Hunter scored 22 off the bench on 7-for-14 shooting.
In all, the Celtics were impressive after losing their first two summer league games in Salt Lake City, getting considerable contributions from all four of their draft picks.
"The ball was in my hands at the end of the game, just like the last game [against Portland], and it went in," Rozier said. "It felt good. We made a lot of progression. We lost the first two games in Utah and we come here and we looked more like a team. It was a lot of fun. It felt like we were going to go through a whole season with those guys. That's how well we connected."
Mickey completed his impressive summer league with 18 points and five rebounds, while James Young showed promise with 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists in 24 minutes.
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Cady Lalanne, selected by the Spurs in the second round from UMass, had 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 17 minutes.
Young to guard Durant
Young looked more engaged and confident in his final two summer league games. The next few weeks before training camp will be critical, and he will spend a portion of that time working out with one of the best, Thunder forward Kevin Durant.
The two share the same agent, and the former MVP invited Young to work out in Los Angeles. Durant is coming off foot surgery that limited him to 27 games last season.
"He's going to be able to start being able to play soon," Young said. "I can't wait. He's a great guy, a great offensive player, one of the best players in the league, one of my favorite players growing up. He's an older guy, he's been in the league and he's doing great, and why not learn from somebody who is doing great? It will definitely take my game up to another level, especially confidence-wise, too.
"Work out with KD, I feel like somebody won't be able to guard me [as effectively]. It [won't be] as easy."
Gary Washburn can be reached at gwashburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe.