SALT LAKE CITY — This was classic Jazz basketball, the kind directly responsible for the majority of the 51 wins that they unexpectedly achieved this season.

All the way around, Game 5 of the best-of-seven series with the Los Angeles Clippers was not a thing of beauty. It’s another way of saying the game played out exactly the way the Jazz wanted.

Slugging it out, mostly by getting defensive stops along with the occasional made basket, the Jazz beat the Clippers 96-92 Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Coming home to play host for Game 6 on Friday, the Jazz are now the overwhelming favorite to close out the Clippers.

“We were playing some really good defense,” said coach Quin Snyder.

How ugly was it?

Look no further than the third quarter, during which both teams combined to go a total of 10 minutes without making a field goal. The Clippers could manage only a playoff-low 15 points in the period, with one made field goal over the final eight minutes.

Not that the Jazz could do much better. They scored a meager 18 points, but Gordon Hayward’s dunk at the buzzer was good enough for a 64-58 lead going into the decisive fourth quarter.

Defense first is the foundation upon which this team was built by general manager Dennis Lindsey. At times, coach Quin Snyder sounded like the proverbial broken record this season after games, repeatedly calling out any and every example of poor defense.

That defensive mindset is now why the Jazz stand a great chance of winning this series. NBA history shows 82 percent of the teams that win Game 5 when the series is tied go on to win the series.

It's good the Jazz focus on defense. Their offense was brutal most of the game.

“Offensively, we got a little stagnant,” said Joe Johnson.

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Hayward scores 27, Jazz beat Clippers 96-92 to take 3-2 lead

Still weak and lacking his usual energy after a bout with food poisoning, Gordon Hayward leaned on his teammates. They came up big.

Even with a little prosperity, the Jazz never could sustain anything on offense. Taking an 11-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, the Jazz bumbled their way on offense and watched the Clippers — led by Chris Paul, of course — go on an 11-0 run.

But then the big-money man came through. Shaking off a serious case of food poisoning that sidelined him for most of Game 4, Hayward came out of a timeout to make his next two shots, one of which was more 3-point distance. In between, Rodney Hood also nailed a 3-pointer.

At that point, it was all about the defense and keeping Paul in check. The All-Star guard was brilliant again, but he didn’t have enough help outside of J.J. Redick, especially again without the injured Blake Griffin.

Oh, we forgot to mention one other thing. And that would be the remarkable play of old man Johnson.

As he did in the previous two wins this series, the veteran came through with several huge plays. He accounted for six points in the final three minutes, making a 3-pointer and assisting on another of Hood’s shots behind the arc.

With 19 seconds left, Johnson calmly drained a 17-footer to put the Jazz over the top with a 92-87 lead. George Hill iced the victory with four consecutive free throws in the final 10 seconds.

“We got a great team,” Johnson said. “We just got to stay confident and keep believing.”

While not as dramatic as Johnson, Hayward matched Johnson in terms of clutch. Not counting the food-poison game, he has scored 67 points in his last two full games.

And his all-around game is a large reason why the Jazz are in position to win a playoff series for the first time in seven years.

“We know how difficult it is to win a series, particularly against a team like this,” Snyder said. “We haven’t done anything yet.”

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