NBA playoff tracker: Mavs clinch division, lock into first-round matchup with Clippers

It’s that time of year again.

With the NBA playoffs approaching next month, the Dallas Mavericks have already secured a top-five finish in the West and will avoid the play-in tournament.

Just like every year in the Western Conference, the playoff race is tightly contested. With a loss to Detroit on Friday night, the Mavericks guaranteed themselves the West’s fifth seed. That means Dallas will open its first-round playoff matchup with the Clippers on the road.

Here’s a look at where the Mavericks are in the West standings, a refresher on how the play-in tournament works and a breakdown of some tiebreaker scenarios.

Western Conference standings

d - Clinched division

x - Clinched playoff berth

ps - Clinched postseason

pi - Clinched play-in

Tiebreaker scenarios

Mavs-Pelicans two-way tie: Season series ended 2-2. The next tiebreaker goes to the team with the better division winning percentage at the end of the season.

Mavs-Clippers two-way tie: Clippers own the tiebreaker after going 2-1 against Dallas this season.

Mavs-Suns two-way tie: Dallas owns the tiebreaker after going 2-1 against Phoenix this season.

Mavs-Kings two-way tie: Season series ended 2-2. The next tiebreaker goes to the team with the better conference winning percentage at the end of the season.

Mavs-Lakers two-way tie: Dallas owns the tiebreaker after going 2-1 against Los Angeles this season.

Mavs-Warriors two-way tie: Dallas owns the tiebreaker after going 3-1 against Golden State this season.

In the event of a multi-way tie, these are the factors the NBA takes into account:

(1) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division

(2) Better winning percentage in all games among tied teams

(3) Division won-lost percentage (only if all teams are in the same division)

(4) Conference won-lost percentage

(5) Better winning percentage against teams eligible for the playoffs in own conference (including teams that finished the regular season tied for a playoff position)

(6) Better net result of total points scored less total points allowed against all opponents (”point differential”)

Last time out

Mavericks: Fell to the Pistons 107-89 on Friday.

Clippers: Fell to the Jazz 110-109 on Friday.

Pelicans: Defeated the Warriors 114-109 on Friday.

Suns: Defeated the Kings 108-107 on Friday.

Kings: Fell to the Suns 108-107 on Friday.

Lakers: Defeated the Grizzlies 123-120 on Friday.

Warriors: Fell to the Pelicans 114-109 on Friday.

Mavericks’ last 5 games

— April 13: Loss, 107-89 against Detroit (home)

— April 10: Win, 111-92 against Miami (road)

— April 9: Win, 130-104 against Charlotte (road)

— April 7: Win, 147-136 against Houston (home)

— April 5: Win, 108-106 against Golden State (home)

How the play-in works

Game 1: No. 7 hosts No. 8 and the winner gets the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. Loser goes to Game 3.

Game 2: No. 9 hosts No. 10. Winner advances to Game 3, loser is eliminated and enters the NBA draft lottery with all other teams that finished worse than No. 10.

Game 3: Loser of Game 1 hosts winner of Game 2. The winner of Game 3 secures the No. 8 seed and the loser enters the lottery.

If a team finishes with the 7th- or 8th-best record, they only have to win once to earn a playoff spot. Finish 9th or 10th, however, and you’ll need to win two games.

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.