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The numbers favor the Jazz. Teams with 3-2 leads in the NBA playoffs advance, somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 percent of the time.
But the Clippers have more than a few players who know what it takes to rally from that deficit, and they'll try to lean on that experience as they try to do it again.
"It's happened before," shooting guard J.J. Redick said. "I've been part of that 20 percent."
Before practice in Los Angeles on Thursday, Redick and teammate Jamal Crawford recounted their history of success in overcoming a 3-2 deficit, just like the one the Clippers face as they come to Salt Lake City for Friday's Game 6 against the Jazz.
Redick did it with Orlando, beating the defending champion Celtics in 2009. Crawford did it with the Hawks, beating the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games back in 2010.
"I know I've won one like that," Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters. "I also know I've lost one like that."
Redick, Crawford and Rivers have all done it together, too. Trailing in their first-round series with the San Antonio Spurs back in 2015, the Clippers put together back-to-back wins to move on.
"It's no secret, our back's against the wall, down 3-2," point guard Chris Paul said after his team's Game 5 loss. "Fortunately we've got a lot of guys in the locker room who had to do this a couple years ago. We had to go into a tough environment, win a game, come back home and win Game 7."
More minutes
Guard Austin Rivers returned from a hamstring injury and played 18 minutes in Tuesday's Game 5, his first game action in nearly a month. The Jazz should expect a heavier dose of the attacking guard in Game 6.
"I know we can increase his minutes a little bit more," Doc Rivers told reporters on Thursday.
Time to unwind
Doc Rivers tried to use an off day Wednesday to clear his mind with a walk on the beach.
The 55-year-old coach, however, said his usual approach to decompressing involves a golf club.
"I go to my club and hit a million balls, imagine that it's [an opposing] player or a ref," Rivers said with a laugh, "and hit it harder and harder and harder. I get worse and worse and worse at it. It's terrible for mechanics but great for your mind."
Twitter: @aaronfalk