NBA: Boston Celtics beat Cleveland Cavaliers to reach Eastern Conference final

The Boston Celtics triumphed 113-98 against the Cleveland Cavaliers to reach their third straight Eastern Conference finals.

Jayson Tatum scored 25 points for the top-seeded Celtics, who won the best-of-seven semi-final series 4-1.

They will face either the Indiana Pacers or the New York Knicks for the Eastern Conference title and a place in the NBA Finals.

Elsewhere, Luka Doncic scored 31 points to help the Dallas Mavericks take a 3-2 series lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Slovenian guard delivered a second consecutive triple-double, with 10 rebounds and 11 assists, as Dallas bounced back from letting a 14-point lead slip in game four.

“It’s just our mentality,” Doncic said.

“We know in the last game we played them at home, we let it go. It was our mistakes and they hit shots.”

The Mavericks will have the chance to wrap up the play-off series and reach the Western Conference finals when they return home for game six on Sunday (01:00 BST).

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points for the top-seeded Thunder, who now need to win consecutive games to advance.

Meanwhile, the Celtics could find out their Eastern Conference final opponents as early as Saturday when New York, who hold a 3-2 lead in their series against Indiana, travel to Indianapolis for game six.

Speaking after his side’s win, Boston’s Jaylen Brown said: “It’s a blessing, honestly, to be a part of winning.

“It’s been a great journey so far, but we’re not done yet. We just have to keep going.”