Mavs crash playoff party; Suns stuck on outside looking in

One can only imagine what kind of impact the playoffs will have on Mark Cuban's Twitter.

At least he'll get the chance to comment on his own team.

With an all-important 130-101 win over the Jazz on Wednesday night, the Mavs earned the right to return to the postseason while the credits began rolling on the Suns' season.

Phoenix did all it could Wednesday night to cling to any dwindling hope, taking care of a tired Hornets team to stay alive. But Dallas' victory made sure Phoenix won't be in the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

Once thought to be spiraling out of the playoff picture, the Mavs are now in a position to avoid the West's dreaded No. 8 seed. Thanks to the Suns' win over New Orleans, both Dallas and Utah, tied for seventh, are a game within the sixth-placed Hornets.

"If we continue to win, we have a real opportunity to move up," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "So that is the challenge."

Orlando 81, Memphis 78
Indiana 130, Toronto 101
Portland 95, San Antonio 83
Cleveland 98, Washington 86
Boston 106, New Jersey 104
Detroit 113, New York 86
Atlanta 113, Milwaukee 105
Phoenix 105, New Orleans 100
Denver 122, Oklahoma City 112
Dallas 130, Utah 101
Minnesota 105, Golden State 97

• Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks, scored 31 points, with a dozen in a row in one stretch, to help Dallas clinch the final playoff berth in the West with a 130-101 win over Utah.

• Rajon Rondo, Celtics, had 31 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead Boston past New Jersey 106-104.

• Danny Granger, Pacers, scored 29 points to lead Indiana to a 130-101 victory against Toronto.

• Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets, scored 31 points to help Denver stave off Oklahoma City in a 122-112 victory.

• Steve Nash, Suns, had 24 points and 13 assists, and Phoenix beat New Orleans 105-100.

• Joe Johnson, Hawks, scored 30 points and made a pair of big shots down the stretch for Atlanta in a 113-105 victory against Milwaukee.

The Phoenix Suns were knocked out of the postseason for the first time since 2004 when Dallas beat Utah 130-101. The Mavericks became the final team to lock up a spot in the West. For Suns center Shaquille O'Neal, it will be the first time his team has not played in the postseason since his rookie season of 1992-93 with Orlando. Suns All-Star guard Steve Nash last missed the postseason in 1999 with Dallas.

The Cleveland Cavaliers became the first team in NBA history to have two 15-game winning streaks at home in the same season by beating Washington 98-86. If Cleveland can beat Boston (Sunday) and Philadelphia (next Wednesday) in its final two games at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs will match the 1985-86 Celtics, whose 40-1 home mark is the league's all-time best.

Shaquille O'Neal was 7-of-10 from the field in Phoenix's 105-100 win against New Orleans, raising his NBA-leading 61 percent field goal percentage for the season. The Suns shot 51 percent (37-of-72) as a team.

The Indiana Pacers reached their highest point total of the season and registered their largest margin of victory by beating the Toronto Raptors 130-101.

The Boston Celtics remained a game ahead of the Orlando Magic in the race for the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 106-104 victory against New Jersey. The Magic beat Memphis 81-78. The Cleveland Cavaliers can clinch the best record in the East with one more victory or Celtics loss.

Denver (53-26) needs to win two more games to break the franchise record -- 54 set in 1987-88 -- after beating Oklahoma City 122-112. ... Kevin Love scored 20 points and had 12 rebounds for his 18th double-double in the last 32 games. The fifth overall pick in the 2008 draft, Love has 28 double-doubles on the season, tops among all NBA rookies. He also moved within two rebounds of breaking the Timberwolves' single-season rookie record, held by Christian Laetner (708).

The Detroit Pistons pulled into a tie with Chicago for the seventh seed in the East and lowered their magic number to clinch an eighth straight playoff berth to one with a 113-86 victory against New York.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had center Ben Wallace (broken leg) and forward Anderson Varejao (bruised wrist) back in action against Washington. Wallace had been out since Feb. 26. Varejao had missed Cleveland's previous game.

"Look at J.J., he's looking like he's in Miami Vice." -- Magic forward Rashard Lewis describing J.J. Redick's outfit comprised of a light-blue shirt, tight white pants and white shoes

The Associated Press contributed to this report.