They did it. With Tatum reaching the free throw line and Luke Kornet, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday scoring timely buckets, the Celtics held on for a 113-103 victory at Spectrum Center.

Boston missed 18 of its 23 3-point attempts in the second half and scored just 45 points after a 68-point first. The Celtics missed countless looks from beyond the arc and had to shift to attacking the rim and the free throw line to succeed.

The Celtics attempted 28 free throws to Charlotte’s nine, including 17 by Tatum, who returned to the court without a hitch Saturday after that flagrant foul by Williams, who considers Tatum one of his closest friends.

According to an NBA source, the two spoke after Friday’s game, with Williams apologizing for the serious mistake. Tatum initially did not want to speak to reporters for a second night in a row; he eventually agreed, but would not discuss Williams or the incident.

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Tatum said. “I’m ready for the match today. We came to Charlotte, did what we were supposed to do and went to Atlanta to try to get another win before heading home.

Tatum never mentioned Williams by name and said he wasn’t going to get into personal battles with opposing players.

“I never talk about just one person,” he said. “I understand who I am, who I am in this league and I play the right way. It’s not about a match or anything. Go out and try to dominate and give my team the best chance to win, by playing the right way. Whether it’s scoring, rebounding, scouting other guys. The goal is to make sure we give ourselves the best chance of winning. It’s not about any situation. No other people.

Jaylen Brown, who I was absent on Saturday due to a hip flexor injury.said he would not accept opposing teams openly using their physicality to try to rattle his teammates as the Celtics fight for a second straight title. Tatum said he understands teams are going to use tough tactics to slow him down.

“You understand that’s their game plan,” Tatum said. “They asked me and (Josh) Green to deny it. They didn’t want me to get the ball. They kept my face. That’s part of it. It makes you stronger. It makes you better. You find other ways to impact the game. Don’t limit yourself to just one way to be effective.

“I lift (weights) every game day, so (the swearing) doesn’t bother me.”

Tatum led the Celtics with 29 points, but missed eight of his nine 3-point attempts. White missed nine of 13. Payton Pritchard, who made five in the first half for 17 points, scored just 5 in the second. Despite all that, the Celtics still managed to lead for the final 45 minutes and 24 seconds.

“The three of us are not going to live or die,” Pritchard said. “We’ll take the three if it’s there, but we weren’t hitting so we ended up hitting mids, finishes at the rim. There are a lot of ways to win, so it’s not like we’re going to force three. We will try to make the right play every time.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Charlotte’s third-quarter run was a byproduct of “our poor offense,” with the Hornets able to overcome Boston’s misses and live-ball turnovers. That quickly changed.

“I thought midway through that third quarter we found our offensive balance,” he said. “We just managed to make the right play, slow down and stick to our spacing.”

The Celtics held the Hornets, the league’s No. 12 team, under 30 points in each of four quarters Saturday.

“They’re a very talented offensive team and it’s not bad to do that,” Mazzulla said. “They’re going to run. It’s just about making sure we know how to maintain (our balance).

Tatum expressed pride in winning without burying 3-pointers, a testament to the Celtics’ versatility.

“You watch enough basketball. We play enough basketball. Every game is not the same. You’re not going to shoot exactly the way you want,” he said. “But our goal of the game is to find a way to win. We had a couple 25-point quarters on the defensive end. So find a way to win when the punches don’t necessarily fall for all of us. And we have to make stops (to win that way).

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.