Someone is going to have to beat the Celtics in Boston to keep them from winning their 17th NBA title.

Cleveland is hoping for one more chance.

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

Game 6 is Friday night in Cleveland.

“We know it’s a win-or-go-home situation. We’ve got to approach it that way,” said LeBron James, who scored 23 of his 35 points in the first 20 minutes and then went cold again. “We’re a very good team at home. But a LeBron James team is never desperate.”

Paul Pierce scored 29 points and helped shut James down for much of the second half. The Cavaliers forward had 23 points with 3:50 left in the first half but made just one basket in the next 20 minutes as Boston erased a 14-point deficit and took the lead for good.

James, who shot less than 26 percent in the first four games, was 12 of 25 from the field but made just four of his last 14 shots and missed all five of his 3-pointers.

“Whether we get 35 or 20 (from James), it doesn’t matter at this point,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. “To lose the game … that’s what’s more disappointing than anything else. Whether he gets this or that, I’m not really concerned, because he’s going to contribute in other ways.”

Cleveland cut an 88-77 lead to 91-87 on two free throws by Delonte West with 46 seconds to play. But, after running down the shot clock, Garnett got the rebound of his miss and Paul Pierce hit five free throws in the last 16 seconds to ice it.

“This momentum, and what we did here tonight,” Garnett said, “we’ve got to figure a way to carry this on the road.”

Lakers 111, Jazz 104: So much for Kobe Bryant’s sore lower back.

Bryant scored 26 points, his teammates kept Utah at bay down the stretch and the Lakers extended the stunning home success by NBA teams in the second round of the playoffs, beating the Jazz in Los Angeles to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

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

Home teams have won 19 of the 20 games played in the second round.

Kudos for Ainge

Danny Ainge, who engineered the trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen that helped the Boston Celtics post the biggest turnaround in league history, was given the Sporting News NBA Executive of the Year award.