Playing their best basketball of the season, the Warriors will look to potentially clinch a playoff spot when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night. The final regular season home contest of the year will be the most important game of the season for Golden State, as they now control their own destiny in their fight for the playoffs. Tuesday's game will be Fan Appreciation Night at ORACLE Arena, with a number of giveaways and special offers taking place. In fact, the game will be another 2-For-1 Pack The House night while supplies last.

The Warriors put themselves in the driver's seat by defeating Minnesota 121-108 on Sunday afternoon. The Warriors looked dominant during the game, leading by as many as 43 points in the fourth quarter. Coupled with the Clippers' 105-100 loss to the Kings, Golden State moved into sole possession of the final Western Conference playoff spot with two games left to play. The Lakers, meanwhile, retained their half-game lead over the Warriors for the seventh spot by defeating the Sonics 109-98 on Sunday night. With all of this taken into account, the Warriors will guarantee themselves a spot in the playoffs if they can win both of their remaining two games.

Rk Team W-L Pct Gb Conf Div Home Road Last 10 Streak Next Opp 1 L.A. Lakers 14-1 0.933 0.0 11-0 4-0 9-1 5-0 9-1 W7 @ IND 2 Cleveland 14-3 0.824 2.0 9-2 5-1 9-0 5-3 9-1 W5 vs NYK 2 Denver 12-6 0.667 3.5 8-5 2-1 6-2 6-4 8-2 W2 vs TOR 3 Houston 11-7 0.611 4.5 8-5 4-2 4-3 7-4 6-4 L1 vs LAC 4 Portland 12-6 0.667 3.5 7-6 2-1 7-0 5-6 7-3 W4 @ NYK 4 Detroit 10-6 0.625 5.5 7-3 3-0 5-3 5-3 6-4 L1 @ SAS 6 Phoenix 11-7 0.611 4.5 7-4 1-1 4-5 7-2 5-5 L2 @ NOH 7 New Orleans 9-6 0.600 5.0 7-4 0-1 4-3 5-3 6-4 L1 vs PHX 7 Toronto 8-8 0.500 7.5 7-7 1-4 4-4 4-4 4-6 L1 @ DEN 8 New York 8-8 0.500 7.5 4-6 0-2 6-3 2-5 4-6 W1 vs POR 8 San Antonio 9-7 0.563 5.5 7-5 3-2 5-4 4-3 7-3 L1 vs DET 9 Dallas 8-8 0.500 6.5 5-5 3-1 2-4 6-4 6-4 W1 vs LAC 10 Golden State 5-13 0.278 10.5 4-4 1-1 3-5 2-8 2-8 L7 @ HOU 11 Philadelphia 7-10 0.412 9.0 3-8 2-2 5-4 2-6 5-5 L4 @ CHI 11 Sacramento 5-14 0.263 11.0 5-9 2-2 3-6 2-8 1-9 L6 vs UTA 12 Minnesota 4-12 0.250 10.5 2-10 1-5 2-6 2-6 3-7 L2 @ ORL 13 Milwaukee 7-12 0.368 10.0 4-9 0-4 3-4 4-8 3-7 L4 vs CHI 13 Memphis 4-13 0.235 11.0 3-10 0-4 3-5 1-8 1-9 L6 @ ATL 14 L.A. Clippers 3-13 0.188 11.5 2-11 0-4 2-9 1-4 3-7 W1 @ DAL 14 Charlotte 6-11 0.353 10.0 3-9 1-2 5-7 1-4 4-6 W1 vs OKC 15 Washington 2-12 0.143 12.5 0-11 0-6 2-6 0-6 2-8 L2 @ NJN

That being the case, Tuesday's contest versus Dallas clearly carries great importance. As Warriors play-by-play announcer Bob Fitzgerald pointed out in the most recent edition of Fitz Files, this game could present a postseason preview. If the season ended today, the Warriors and Mavericks would indeed be matched up in the first round of the playoffs. This scenario may seem daunting being that the Mavs are an NBA-best 66-14 on the season. However, the Warriors have defeated Dallas in each of the teams' two meetings this season, and they own a four-game winning streak dating back to last year.

Head Coach Don Nelson's former team is surely aware of all of these facts, and they will come into Oakland wanting to send a message to Golden State. The contest figures to be a hard-fought battle between the hungry Warriors and the battle-tested Mavs.

Golden State can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Dallas, plus a loss by the Clippers, who will be playing at Phoenix in a game that tips off at 7:00 p.m. the same night. If Sunday's game is any indication, Warriors fans are well aware of this fact. Many stayed around following the game at ORACLE Arena on Sunday afternoon waiting on updates from the Clippers-Kings game. When the final score was announced, the crowd roared with satisfaction. As Tim Roye wrote in his latest Journal, "ORACLE Arena will be rocking" on Tuesday night.

Following Tuesday's contest, the Warriors will travel to Portland to close out the season on Wednesday night. The best place to watch the game will be at ORACLE Arena, where you can join fans at the Warriors Road Viewer Party. Watch the Warriors live from the Rose Garden in Portland as they continue to make their exciting push for the playoffs. Admission and parking are FREE! Find out more.

Extras: Warriors Radio Roundtable | Fitz Files | Tim Roye's Journal