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We take a look at the games that impact the West playoff picture each morning for the rest of the regular season.

Mavs' spot in the standings: The Mavs and Nuggets are both 11 ½ games behind the top-seeded Spurs, but Denver is in control of its destiny when it comes to securing the sixth seed. The Nuggets (35-28) have one fewer loss than the Mavs (36-29) and are a couple of percentage points ahead in the standings. The Mavs own the tiebreaker over the Nuggets, whose three remaining games are at home against the Magic and on the road against the Thunder and Timberwolves.

SATURDAY'S GAMES
Nuggets 118, Suns 107: Ty Lawson had 29 points and 10 assists as Denver clinched a playoff spot.

Bulls 93, Mavs 83: The Mavs put up a decent fight against the East’s first-place team despite Jason Kidd and Jason Terry sitting out to rest.

Rockets 99, Warriors 96: Houston snapped a six-game losing streak and kept its slim playoff hopes alive.

Grizzlies 93, Trail Blazers 89: The Grizzlies almost let a 12-point lead slip away in the last four minutes, but Memphis held on for its 14th win in 18 games to pull within a half-game of the Clippers for the fourth seed.

Jazz 117, Magic 107 (OT): Devin Harris scored 21 points, including a dagger 3-pointer in overtime, as the Jazz seized control of the fight for the West’s final playoff seed.

TODAY’S GAMES
Thunder at Lakers
Rockets at Heat
Cavaliers at Spurs
Magic at Nuggets
Hornets at Clippers

If the playoffs started today: Mavs vs. Thunder

UPDATED: 9 a.m., Friday.

The Dallas Mavericks clinched a playoff berth Thursday with New Orleans' win over Houston. Now attention turns strictly to seeding and matchups.

With the Mavs (35-28) -- back in action tonight for their home finale against the Golden State Warriors -- and Denver Nuggets (34-28) in a virtual dead heat in the Western Conference standings and both teams now two games ahead of the trailing Utah Jazz (33-30) and Phoenix Suns (33-30) in the loss column, the jockeying between the two is coming down to the sixth and seventh seeds.

Which would the Mavs prefer? As the seventh seed the Mavs know their travel will be light to play the No. 2 seed. They'd start the playoffs either north of the Red River at the Oklahoma City Thunder or on the River Walk at the San Antonio Spurs. The sixth seed will face the No. 3 seed and likely head to Los Angeles to face Kobe Bryant's Lakers. Chris Paul's Clippers lost Thursday at Phoenix, a hit to their chances of moving up and Memphis remains a long shot.

"It doesn’t matter at all," Jason Terry said of which seed the Mavs finish. "We've just got to get in. One more game and we solidify one of those three spots and and we’ll see what happens. It’s going to be a helluva playoffs. If I'm a fan I'm sitting here waiting. I can’t wait for the next week and a half to be up."

Jet can just about forget about the eighth seed. The Mavs hold the tiebreaker on the Nuggets, Jazz and Suns.

So which team, the Mavs or Nuggets, hold the upper hand to finish in sixth? Well, it depends just as much on how those two teams approach their final games after playoff berths are locked up as it does on their opponents' approach.

For instance, the Mavs could face a Chicago Bulls team Saturday night intent on finishing with the best record in the NBA. The Atlanta Hawks on Thursday could still be dueling with the Boston Celtics and/or Orlando Magic for the No. 4 seed and homecourt in the first round.

Here's the breakdown of schedules for the Mavs and Nuggets:

Mavs (winning percentage of opponents: .573)
Fri: vs. Golden State (22-39)
Sat: at Chicago (47-15)
April 26: at Atlanta (37-25)

Nuggets (winning percentage of opponents:.554)
Sat: at Phoenix (32-30)
Sun: vs. Orlando (36-26)
Wed: at Oklahoma City (45-17)
April 26: at Minnesota (25-38)

We take a look at the games that impact the West playoff picture each morning for the rest of the regular season.

Mavs' spot in the standings: The Mavs are back in the sixth seed, a half game ahead of the Nuggets and in possession of the tiebreaker. Dallas is two games ahead of the Jazz and two and a half games ahead of the Suns and Rockets.

WEDNESDAY'S GAMES
Mavs 117, Rockets 110: Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter of the Mavs’ critical comeback win.

Clippers 104, Nuggets 98: Chris Paul had 21 points and eight assists as the Clippers won their fifth straight to pull within a half game of the Lakers for the third seed.

Grizzlies 103, Hornets 91: Rudy Gay scored 26 points as the Grizzlies clinched their second consecutive playoff berth.

Lakers 99, Warriors 87: Andrew Bynum had 31 points and Pau Gasol had a 22-11-11 triple-double.

Spurs 127, Kings 102: The first-place Spurs rolled to another rout while Tim Duncan rested.

Jazz 112, Trail Blazers 91: Ex-Maverick Devin Harris hit a career-high six 3-pointers during a 27-point performance to help keep Utah’s playoff hopes alive.

Thunder 109, Suns 97: Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner James Harden scored a career-high 40 points for Oklahoma City.

TODAY’S GAMES
Rockets at Hornets
Clippers at Suns

If the playoffs started today: Mavs vs. Lakers

DALLAS -- The NBA fined Mavs guard Delonte West $25,000 for poking Utah's Gordon Hayward in the ear during Monday night's loss.

West will not be suspended for the bizarre incident -- called a "physical taunt" by the league office -- that occurred with 3:40 remaining in the first half.

A $25,000 fine will hit West harder than the vast majority of NBA players. He is making a veteran's minimum salary of $1.15 million this season and was in such financial straits during the summer that he worked as a mover for a furniture company.

Our weekly look at Mavs newcomers:

Vince Carter’s role in the Mavs’ revamped, Lamar Odom-less rotation is clear. He comes off the bench at small forward, allowing Shawn Marion to slide to power forward when Dirk Nowitzki comes off the floor.

The question is whether Carter or Marion will join the Mavs’ closer committee of Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry during crunch time.

Coach Rick Carlisle’s answer in Utah was Carter, who played every minute during the fourth quarter and three overtime periods. That put three of the four most prolific active fourth-quarter scorers on the floor for the Mavs, as only Kobe Bryant has more career buckets in the final frame than Nowitzki, Terry and Carter. Carter also ranks below only Bryant and Nowitzki for game-winning shots made among active players.

Of course, it should be noted that the 35-year-old Carter’s production has dipped the most by far of that closer quartet.

Carter hit a couple of big shots – a pair of 3-pointers that were critical in forcing the first overtime – but those were the only shots he hit in the fourth quarter and overtimes of the loss to the Jazz. Meanwhile, the Mavs’ most valuable defender watched from the bench.

Carlisle, as tends to be the case, was vague about the reasoning for his decision to play Carter instead of Marion with the game on the line. He mentioned that Carter was playing well, leaving out the fact that Marion didn’t appear to have much in the tank, registering only four points and two rebounds in 23:51 during the Mavs’ fourth game in five nights.

Carlisle’s decision also could have been influenced by the Jazz’s lack of an elite wing scorer. It’s hard to envision Carlisle opting for Carter over Marion in crunch time when Dallas needs to defend someone like Bryant, Manu Ginobili or Kevin Durant during the first round of the playoffs.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Three games into this one-of-a-kind season, after Kevin Durant threw in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to drop the Dallas Mavericks to 0-3, coach Rick Carlisle summoned the mercurial basketball gods to cut his squad some slack.

Now with four games to go after Monday's stunning, 123-121 triple-overtime loss in which the Utah Jazz, one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league, buried 12 of them, including the go-ahead dagger and fifth from Devin Harris in the 61st minute, Carlisle was left to shake his head in disbelief.

"It's just beyond me the kind of shots that teams are hitting against us this year," he said. "We're playing our ass off, but I tell you what, night after night we just got to hang in, we just got to hang in and keep guarding.

"But it's something to see. It's something to see."

For more, click here.

We take a look at the games that impact the West playoff picture each morning for the rest of the regular season.

Mavs' spot in the standings: The Mavs slipped to seventh place, a half game behind the Nuggets. The Rockets and Suns are a game and a half behind the Mavs, and Utah is two games behind Dallas.

MONDAY'S GAMES

Jazz 123, Mavs 121 (3 OT): Dallas missed a chance to throw a knockout punch to the Jazz’s playoff hopes, running up the Mavs core players’ minutes in the process.

Spurs 120, Warriors 99: San Antonio cruised to a win over Golden State’s summer league squad to take over the West's top spot.

Clippers 92, Thunder 77: The Thunder fell out of first place after managing to score only 25 points in the second half.

Nuggets 105, Rockets 102: Arron Afflalo scored 26 points to lead the Nuggets to their fourth win in five games.

Suns 125, Trail Blazers 107: The Suns shot 60 percent and had six players score in double figures to move into the eighth seed.

TODAY’S GAMES
Grizzlies at Timberwolves
Spurs at Lakers

If the playoffs started today: Mavs vs. Thunder

Follow along with our experts as they tweet and chat throughout tonight's Mavs-Jazz game at EnergySolutions Arena.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Mavericks are coming off their highest minutes game across the board of the season with five players logging at least 37 minutes, led by Dirk Nowitzki going 43 and Jason Kidd hitting 39, his first venture of more than 35 minutes.

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"We're a veteran ballclub, so we all, I think, know what we have to do to prepare," Kidd said.

The Mavs initially planned to have a morning shootaround at Salt Lake City because of Sunday's game being played early in the afternoon. The team arrived in Salt Lake City in the early evening, but coach Rick Carlisle opted to forgo the shootaround and give the club a few extra hours of rest.

After Sunday's overtime loss to the Lakers, Kidd said he would expect to play tonight against what will be a desperate Jazz team that is 21-8 at home and could find itself out of the playoff mix with its next loss. Kidd sat out Friday's game at Portland, the second of a back-to-back, two games into his return from a strained right groin.

The Mavs enter tonight's game tied with Denver in the loss column and with one fewer loss than Houston. The Nuggets and Rockets face off tonight in Houston and then the Rockets go to Dallas on Wednesday. The Mavs hold the tiebreaker over both teams, as well as hard-charging Phoenix, which is just one game back of the Rockets.

Kidd said he's not overly concerned about the club's playoff position.

"What do we have, five games left?" he said. "We win all five, we’re fine."

Records: Mavs (34-27); Jazz (31-30)

When: 8 p.m.

Where: EnergySolutions Arena

TV: FSSW

Radio: ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1270 AM (Spanish)

What to watch: Rebounding. The Jazz rank third in the NBA in offensive rebounding, grabbing on average 13 a game, and they're fourth overall in total rebounding. The Mavs' weak link for some time now has been defensive rebounding and giving up way too many second-chance points. The Lakers grabbed 15 offensive boards Sunday and outscored Dallas 18-9 on second-chance points.

Key matchup: Paul Millsap vs. Dirk Nowitzki
Millsap is always a rugged matchup and he's posted some big numbers in recent games. As they did against the Lakers, the Mavs must use their starting center to defend a high-scoring opposing center. Al Jefferson is averaging 19.4 points and that helps Millsap create in other areas. Nowitzki is coming off a 9-of-28 shooting performance at L.A. on Sunday and is lugging around a sub-40 shooting percentage in the past five games.

Injuries: Mavs -- G Rodrigue Beaubois (right calf strain) is questionable. Jazz -- G Raja Bell (left knee) is out; F Josh Howard (left knee) is out; G/F C.J. Miles (left calf strain) is out; G Earl Watson (right knee) is out; F Jeremy Evans (right ankle sprain) is questionable; F DeMarre Carroll (mild concussion) is questionable.

Up next: Houston Rockets at Mavs, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

SALT LAKE CITY -- This is it. The final full week of the compacted 66-game regular-season schedule comes down to four games in six nights.

The Mavericks will have four days off following this week's slate before finishing off the regular season on April 26 at Atlanta, and then presumably beginning the playoffs a few days later.

The Mavs (34-27) have yet to secure a playoff spot with five games to go, but they certainly have the upper hand in getting in and finishing with the sixth seed. But nothing is guaranteed and that includes getting a win tonight at Utah, a team desperately clinging to playoff contention.

So here we go:

Today: at Utah Jazz (31-30), 8 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSSW/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: The Mavs know they're going to get the Jazz's best game. They got a night off and have to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Dallas is 2-0 against Utah but hasn't seen the Jazz since early March. The big issue for the Mavs could be fatigue after Sunday's overtime loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles. Dirk Nowitzki played a team-high 43 minutes. Jason Kidd played a season-high 39, Delonte West and Brendan Haywood each played 38 minutes and Jason Terry played 37.

Wednesday: versus Houston Rockets (32-28), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: KTXA (Ch. 21)/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: Another desperate team is on the docket. The Rockets ended the week Sunday with a third consecutive loss after winning four in a row. Houston gets Denver at home tonight and depending on that result and how the Mavs fare at Utah, this game could be absolutely huge just to get into the playoffs.

Friday: versus Golden State Warriors (22-37), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSSW/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: If ever there was a gimme game, this is it in the home finale. The Warriors (10-20 on the road), via trade and injury, are completely depleted. Their best healthy player might not be healthy any longer as David Lee has a strained groin and a stress reaction and could miss the rest of the season. Dallas came close to blowing a big lead at Golden State to start this current four-game road trip. If the Mavs don't win this one easily at home then they might as well pack it in for the summer.

Saturday: at Chicago Bulls (46-14), 8 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSSW/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: This will be the Bulls' third-to-last game, and as they start the week with a 3 1/2-game lead over Miami for the No. 1 seed in the East, it's debatable as to whether the Mavs will see a full Bulls lineup or not. By this point, if the Mavs have not clinched a playoff spot, they could be in serious jeopardy of matching the 1999 Bulls as the last defending champ not to make the playoffs. Chicago could still be jockeying with Oklahoma City and San Antonio for best overall record, so it's hard to say at this point how each coach will approach the game.

We take a look at the games that impact the West playoff picture each morning for the rest of the regular season.

Mavs' spot in the standings: Denver's blowout win against Golden State puts them in a dead heat with the Mavs for the seventh spot -- of course, Dallas holds the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series. Both teams are now a full game back of the red-hot Rockets, who won their fourth in a row at Portland.

MONDAY'S GAMES
Lakers 93, Hornets 91: The Kobe-less Lakers bounced back, barely, from getting drilled in Phoenix. Pau Gasol had 25 points and nine rebounds and Ramon Sessions had 17 points and six assists. His 3-pointer put the Lakers up by six with 26 seconds left.

Thunder 109, Bucks 89: Oklahoma City moved back into the top spot in the West on a rare night in which five players scored in double figures. Thabo Sefolosha (14) and Serge Ibaka (13) joined regulars Russell Westbrook (26), Kevin Durant (19) and James Harden (16).

Jazz 91, Spurs 84: Gregg Popovich gave Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker the night off with an eye toward the upcoming back-to-back against the Lakers and Grizzlies (Wednesday and Thursday). The Jazz are limping with Earl Watson (knee) out indefinitely and C.J. Miles (calf) injured.

Grizzlies 94, Clippers 85: Memphis is making a hard push for a first-round playoff series on its home floor. The Grizz moved one-half game behind the Clips for the fourth seed. L.A. plays seven of hits final 10 games on the road. The Grizz have six of 10 at home.

Nuggets 123, Warriors 84: Denver got a boost from the return of Dino Gallinari, who busted his thumb the last time Dallas came through town on March 19. He had 15 points, six assists and five boards in 30 minutes.

Suns 114, Timberwolves 90: Steve Nash kept the heat on his former team to beat the Kings tonight. The Suns notched their 30th victory and can tie Dallas in the loss column if the Mavs fail to take care of their business.

Rockets 94, Blazers 89: Houston is happy to have Kyle Lowry back in the lineup. He came off the bench and provided 13 points (5-of-6 FGs), four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 23 minutes.

TODAY’S GAMES
Kings at Mavs

If the playoffs started today: Mavs vs. Spurs

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks have nine games left in the regular season. The next one is Tuesday at home against the Sacramento Kings.

"Huge game for us," guard Jason Terry said. "There’s no bigger game for us this season."

Entering Monday's games, five teams -- Houston, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix and Utah -- are separated by 2 1/2 games and in contention for the final three playoffs spots in the Western Conference. The Mavs hold the tiebreaker against all of them, but they'll still have to take care of their own business with six of nine games on the road during this final kick.

There are multiple times during the final 18 days of the regular season when the five contenders play one another. The standings are bound to change from game to game and final seeding might come down to April 26, the final night of this 66-game regular season.

Here's a look at the remaining schedules for the five teams:

We’ll take a look at the games that impact the West playoff picture each morning for the rest of the regular season.

Mavs' spot in the standings: They’re sitting in seventh, a half-game behind the Rockets and a half-game ahead of the Nuggets. Dallas is 1 ½ games ahead of the Suns and two games ahead of the Jazz.

SUNDAY'S GAMES

Spurs 114, Jazz 104: Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined for 51 points in the first-place Spurs’ 11th straight win. Utah guards Earl Watson (knee) and C.J. Miles (calf) left the game due to injuries.

Thunder 91, Raptors 75: Oklahoma City went on a 24-0 run in the second half to turn a close game into a comfortable win.

Rockets 104, Kings 87: Courtney Lee scored 25 points to lead the Rockets in point guard Kyle Lowry’s return after missing 15 games due to a bacterial infection.

TODAY’S GAMES
Lakers at Hornets
Thunder at Bucks
Clippers at Grizzlies
Warriors at Nuggets
Suns at Timberwolves
Spurs at Jazz
Rockets at Trail Blazers

If the playoffs started today: Mavs vs. Thunder

How it happened: A superstar performance by Dirk Nowitzki and signs of life from Lamar Odom made a sweet combination for the Mavs.

Yet the Mavs still had to sweat out the win over the Utah Jazz.

Nowitzki scored a season-high 40 points in 29 minutes. He lit up the Jazz in remarkably efficient fashion, hitting 14 of 21 shots from the floor and nine of 10 from the line.

Odom made a significant contribution in his return from a self-imposed four-game, 10-day sabbatical. After a lackadaisical first half, Odom provided the kind of pants-on-fire effort coach Rick Carlisle wanted from him.

Odom finished with nine points, five rebounds, three assists and three blocks in 18 minutes. That included a six-minute stint in the third quarter when he stuffed the box score with five points, four rebounds, two assists and a block, sparking a run that pushed the Mavs’ lead from nine to 19 points.

That lead swelled to 23 during the fourth quarter, but the Jazz pulled within five with less than two minutes remaining. Nowitzki made sure the Jazz didn’t pull off a stunning comeback, scoring 10 points in the final six minutes.

Jason Terry, who had a horrible outing in Friday night's loss to the New Orleans Hornets, bounced back with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting.

What it means: The Mavs stopped the bleeding, snapping their first four-game losing streak of the season. They’ll get a day off before making the quick trip to Oklahoma City to begin a five-games-in-six nights stretch.

Bold play of the game: You know it’s a guy’s night when he jacks up a contested, off-balance 3-pointer that goes off the glass and in. That’s what happened for Nowitzki with 7:28 remaining in the third quarter. He also hit a 3 the next possession, giving him 24 of the Mavs’ last 33 points at that point and stretching the Dallas lead to a dozen.

Stat of the night: The Mavs are 22-11 when Odom plays and 0-5 without him.

He's back.

Lamar Odom ends his extended leave Saturday as he re-joins the reeling Dallas Mavericks at their most difficult juncture of the season. The Mavs have lost a season-high four in a row and are in the midst of their worst stretch having lost five of six. Tonight's game against the Utah Jazz is their fourth in five nights with five in six nights starting up Monday at Oklahoma City.

"We have to fight our way of this," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.

They'll have to do it against a Jazz team that is again playing with confidence. Utah ended a 3-11 stretch with two big wins over Houston and then the streaking Miami Heat on Friday night. The Heat rallied from a large double-digit deficit in the second half, but former Mavs guard Devin Harris scored the game-winning and-1 in the waning seconds.

Records: Jazz (17-18); Mavs (21-16)

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: American Airlines Center

TV: FSSW

Radio: ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)

What to watch: Lamar Odom. Carlisle threw down the gauntlet Friday, saying that Odom must prove he's with this team through his attitude and actions. He hasn't played a game since Feb. 20. How will he respond?

Key matchup: Dirk Nowitzki vs. Paul Millsap
Nowitzki is having a tough time coming out of the All-Star break. He played less than 10 minutes Wednesday before lower back tightness took him out of the game with one point. He returned Friday at New Orleans but managed just 7-of-19 from the floor -- and that was bolstered by two late 3s -- and he did not attempt a free throw. Millsap, who some felt was deserving of an All-Star selection over Nowitzki, is coming off two sub-par games and will be looking to get his game going.

Injuries: Mavs - G Delonte West (fractured right ring finger) is out. Jazz - G Raja Bell (strained left adductor) is questionable.

Up next: Mavs at Oklahoma City Thunder, 7 p.m., Monday