NBA Standings 2012: Mavericks Are Percentage Points Out Of No. 4 Spot In The West

The Mavericks win over the Rockets Saturday night moved them up to the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference playoff race, and are now only percentage points behind the Clippers for home court advantage.

The Western Conference playoff race is extremely tight with there being 1.5 games between the No. 4 spot and No. 9 spot, so every game is veyr important the rest of the season. Had the Mavericks fell last night to the Rockets they would have fallen to the No. 7 spot.

For more on the Mavericks go check out Mavs Moneyball.

Mavericks Vs. Rockets: Lamar Odom Goes Scoreless In Return To Action

Lamar Odom returned to the rotation in the Dallas Mavericks' 101-99 win over the Houston Rockets Saturday night. Odom played 13 minutes against the Rockets but was held scoreless for the second straight game. Despite his lack of production, Odom is still considered at key part of the Mavericks according to head coach Rick Carlisle.

"His minutes are valuable, we're (0-6) without him. Regardless of what you read into statistically, there's a correlation there to our success. We've got a relatively short period of time here, but I think the thing that's important to identify (is) it's not about Lamar. It's not about any individual guy or any of that kind of stuff. It's about winning games."

Odom has had a rocky season to say the least since being acquired in a salary dump move by the Lakers. He hasn't been happy and his production and confidence has suffered because of it.

For more on the Mavericks, be sure to check out Mavs Moneyball and join the discussion and for everything on the Rockets go visit The Dream Shake. For more news and notes from around the NBA head over to SB Nation's NBA Basketball page.

Dirk Nowitzki Passes Charles Barkley To Move Up To 19th On NBA's All-Time Scoring List

Mavericks Vs. Rockets Final Score: Dallas Defeats Houston In Overtime, 101-99

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Houston Rockets 101-99 in overtime to move into a tie with the Los Angeles Clippers for the fourth spot in the Western Conference. The Mavericks were led by Dirk Nowitzki who scored 31 points in the win and went 10-of-20 from the field.Nowitzki had help with Jason Terry scoring 24 points and Shawn Marion had a big game with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

The game was close throughout and the game went to overtime when the Rockets Chandler Parsons tied the game on a three-pointer with three seconds left.

In overtime the Mavericks never trailed the Rockets and it was a pair of free throws by Nowitzki with 18 seconds to put them up by four points to seal the victory.

It was not all good for the Mavericks as Lamar Odom was held scoreless for the second straight game.

For more on the Mavericks, be sure to check out Mavs Moneyball and join the discussion and for everything on the Rockets go visit The Dream Shake.

Mavericks Vs. Rockets Halftime Score: Dallas Leads Houston 56-54

The Dallas Mavericks are in a struggle against the Houston Rockets Saturday night as they lead 56-54 at the half. This game has huge playoff implications as the Mavericks are sitting the No. 5 spot but are only one-half game ahead of the Rockets who are at the No. 8 spot. So, if the Mavericks win they could be in position for home court advantage, however if they lose they could fall out of the top eight.

So far tonight, Dirk Nowitzki is leading the Mavericks with 16 points and is the only Dallas player in double-digits, but the rest of the scoring is balanced out. As a team the Mavericks are shooting 51 percent and have been hitting their free throws by making 15-of-17.

The Rockets are being led by Goran Dragic who has 16 points and is starting due to the Rockets missing both Kevin Martin and Kyle Lowry.

For more on the Mavericks, be sure to check out Mavs Moneyball and join the discussion and for everything on the Rockets go visit The Dream Shake.

Dallas Mavericks Face Tight Race In Western Conference Playoff Standings

Tonight's matchup takes importance not only from the standpoint of two Texas rivals facing off, but also because of their current standings in the NBA's Western Conference.

The Mavericks are in sixth place in the standings, but only half a game above the Houston Rockets in the standings. There is just a half game separating the fourth place Memphis Grizzlies and the Denver Nuggets who currently are on the outside looking in at the current playoff standings.

It's a pivotal time for the Mavericks as they face the Rockets in back-to-back games, before going on the road to face the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic.

Looking even further, of the 17 games left in the regular season for Dallas, seven of those games will be against teams that are within a half game of the Mavericks in the standings.

Settle in folks as things are only going to get heated up as we head down the home stretch.

For continued discussion, head on over Mavs Moneyball, your home for Dallas Mavericks talk on the SB Nation network of blogs.

Mavericks Vs. Rockets: Game Time, TV Schedule, And More

Dallas' four game winning streak seems like a distant memory, as the Mavericks have now lost two in a row headed into Saturday night's game against Houston.

Mavericks Vs. Rockets Preview: Five Questions With The Dream Shake

We discuss Houston's mid-season trades, the emergence of Kyle Lowry and Daryl Morey's plan with SB Nation's dedicated Rockets blog.