Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett hangs from the rim after a dunk as Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) watches during Game Five of their NBA Eastern Conference semi-final series in Boston on Wednesday night. The Celtics beat the Cavaliers 96-89 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. - AP

BOSTON (AP):

KEVIN GARNETT had 26 points and 16 rebounds, Rajon Rondo added 20 points and 13 assists, and the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 96-89 on Wednesday night to move within a win of the Eastern Conference finals.

Paul Pierce scored 29 and helped shut down LeBron James for much of the second half to give Boston a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven conference semi-finals.

James scored 23 of his 35 points in the first half and was mostly quiet in the second before scoring six in the final 3:26 after Boston was well in the lead.

Game six is tonight in Cleveland, with the deciding game in Boston on Sunday, if necessary.

Deciding games

At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 26 points and his teammates kept Utah at bay down the stretch to win 111-104 and take a 3-2 lead over the Jazz in the Western Conference semi-finals.

The Lakers, who never trailed, can advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2004 with a victory tonight in Utah. But if form prevails, the teams will be playing a seventh and deciding game on Monday night at Staples Center, where Los Angeles has a 17-3 record against the Jazz since the arena opened before the 1999-2000 season.

Lamar Odom had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Pau Gasol added 21 points, six rebounds and eight assists, Vladimir Radmanovic scored 15 points and Derek Fisher added 14 for the Lakers, who were 17-1 during the regular season when all five starters scored in double figures.

All five Utah starters also scored in double figures led by Deron Williams, who had 27 points and 10 assists.