The Houston Rockets' latest loss - a 117-110 win by the Mavericks, Dallas' seventh in a row over Houston - doesn't officially eliminate the Rockets from the NBA Playoffs, but the road to the postseason has become quite daunting.
At 32-30 overall, the Rockets are tied with Phoenix, and both teams are a half game behind Utah. The Jazz own the tiebreaker over the Suns, but the Suns own the tiebreaker over Houston, as does Utah if the Jazz and Rockets finish tied.
The best scenario for Houston?
- The Rockets must win out in their final four games. With a home and away against lowly New Orleans and a home game versus Golden State, that's do-able, but Houston also has to go to Miami, where the Heat have the league's best home record
- The Jazz and Suns need to each lose one game. The two teams play each other in Salt Lake City, so that ensures at least one club will lose a game. If the Suns are able to win that game, they could easily lose one of their remaining contests against the Nuggets, Clippers or Spurs.
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