Since the league went to an 82-game season in 1967, only the Los Angeles Lakers of the '80s and '90s have had a longer streak than the Spurs, at 12 consecutive seasons. Lofty company, to be sure.

The Mavericks also have a chance to be the No. 6 seed in the West and finish third in the Southwest Division, both of which would be one slot better than last season.

And, of course, a victory would send a final message to the Western Conference that the Mavericks are to be taken seriously in the playoffs, which start this weekend.

What the Mavericks can't do tonight against the Houston Rockets is worry about any of that or the things they can only marginally control - such as their playoff opponent.

"We're going to approach the game thinking only about Houston," James Singleton said. "We're not going to think about the possibilities of the 6, 7 or 8 seeds. We're going to go in thinking about winning that game. After that, we'll know what's going on."

Most of the working class went to bed Tuesday night well before the Utah Jazz finished its game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

But the Mavericks had a commendable attitude going forward. Don't worry about the Jazz. Just win tonight, and the worst they can be is the No. 7 seed, even if New Orleans, which has the same record as the Mavericks but owns the tiebreaker, wins at San Antonio.

That would send Utah to LA for the first round. And the Mavericks would go against San Antonio, Houston or Denver.

The Rockets have plenty to play for tonight, too. A win gives them the Southwest Division title and home-court advantage in the first round.

Against whom is anybody's guess.

"I'm not a scoreboard watcher," coach Rick Carlisle said. "I just know we have an opportunity to improve our position. Whatever happens to those other teams happens to those other teams."

Dirk perseveres: Three times before the first quarter was over Monday, Dirk Nowitzki left the court to visit the nearest men's room.

He had no desire to discuss the problem, but once he presumably purged his system, he got to work for 34 points, hitting 16 of 17 free throws.

"It was a frustrating game for him," Carlisle said. "Minnesota is a persistent team. They have guys constantly bodying you and reaching, and it probably felt to him like he was getting hit a little more than there were fouls called. But he kept his mind and spirit into the game."

Briefly: Even with a win tonight, the Mavericks will finish with their worst season record since 1999-2000, when they went 40-42. Their 18-23 road record is one win better than last season's. ... In back-to-back games this season, the Mavericks were 8-8 in the first game and 8-8 in the second game.

Playoff scenarios

How the playoffs would stack up if the season ended today:

Western CONFERENCE

1. LA Lakers* vs. 8. Utah

2. Denver vs. 7. Dallas

3. Houston vs. 6. N. Orleans

4. Portland vs. 5. San Antonio

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Cleveland* vs. 8. Detroit*

2. Boston* vs. 7. Philadelphia

3. Orlando* vs. 6. Chicago

4. Atlanta* vs. 5. Miami*

*Locked into seed

NBA TIEBREAKERS

In the event two or more teams are tied in the standings at the end of the regular season, a series of tiebreakers are applied to determine seedings.

TWO-TEAM

1. Division winner (this criterion is applied regardless of whether the tied teams are in the same division)

2. Better record in head-to-head games

3. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division)

4. Higher winning percentage in conference games

5. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference

6. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference

7. Higher point differential between points scored and points allowed

THREE-TEAM

1. Division winner (this criterion is applied regardless of whether the tied teams are in the same division)

2. Best head-to-head winning percentage among all teams tied

3. Highest winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division)

4. Highest winning percentage in conference games

5. Highest winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference

6. Highest point differential between points scored and points allowed