Oklahoma City • The Utah Jazz aren’t looking at Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder as a closeout game.

Jazz coach Quin Snyder has preached to his team for much of the season to keep an even keel. And that approach worked. When the Jazz were 19-28 following a January loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the players didn’t allow themselves to get too low. When they proceeded to win 29 of the next 35 games, climb out of the 10th spot in the Western Conference and reach the postseason, they didn’t break out the champagne and start celebrating.

So Wednesday’s matchup features a simple concept for a Jazz team on the verge of reaching the Western Conference semifinals for the second consecutive season: They want to play their game, as clichéd as that sounds. They want to do the things that made them successful in winning three straight against a star-laden OKC team. They want to avoid the things — turnovers and missed shots — that allowed the Thunder to win Game 1 in convincing fashion.

“I think a big thing is that we will have to learn how to play on the road again,” Snyder said. “They didn’t shoot well in the last game. So we’ll have to figure out again how to win in the face of whatever adversity we will see.”

Staying even-keeled has become a strength for the Jazz. And the Jazz have been able to make adjustments throughout the series. They will have to do it again against a Thunder team that figures to be desperate in an attempt to save its season.

The Jazz know what that entails. Wednesday night figures to be another physical matchup, with the potential for skirmishes similar to what Game 4 brought.

“We know it’s going to be playoff basketball,” Utah forward Jae Crowder said. “It’s something that we have to be ready for.”