Dallas makes playoffs, puts Jazz in trouble

NBA: The Dallas Mavericks clinched a Western Conference playoff spot for the third consecutive season and the 15th time in the last 16 years.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 and the Mavericks earned the No. 7 spot Monday with a 101-92 win at Utah, leaving one postseason slot.

The postseason is nothing new for the organization, but the team seemed to be in dire straits when it dropped 10 of 12 during a stretch in March and lost Chandler Parsons for the season after surgery on his right knee on March 25.

Dallas made a playoff push by winning seven of its last eight games.

“Well, it’s been a lot of work,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s been an amazing two weeks. Our guys looked like they were down and out, and we all dug in. Everyone dug in, especially the players, and we found a way to get into the playoffs.

“Tonight was game seven. That’s the way we approached it.”

Utah (40-41) lost control of its own destiny and needs to beat the Lakers on Wednesday and for the Rockets (40-41) to lose to the Kings. Houston holds the tiebreaker against the Jazz if they finish with the same record.

Dallas (42-39) rode its two stars to victory as Nowitzki hit four 3-pointers and added 11 rebounds. Deron Williams scored 23.

Rockets top Timberwolves: James Harden scored 34 points and Dwight Howard had 19 points and eight rebounds to keep Houston alive with a 129-105 victory at Minnesota.

Harden made 12 of 21 shots in three quarters and the Rockets made 15 of 30 3-pointers.

Shabazz Muhammad scored 23 points for the Timberwolves, who were looking for their first four-game winning streak since 2012.

Westbrook swamps Lakers: Kevin Durant scored 34 points and Russell Westbrook had a triple-double by halftime to help Oklahoma City beat the Lakers 112-79 in the final road game of Kobe Bryant’s 20-year career.

Bryant looked vintage in the first quarter with 13 points, but he went scoreless the rest of the way.

Westbrook stole the show in the second quarter, clinching his league-leading 18th triple-double of the season, and the 37th of his career. He finished with 13 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.

Cavs clinch: At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 34 points in three quarters, Kyrie Irving added 35 and the Cavaliers clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 109-94 win over Atlanta.

NCAA: No new bowls for next three years

MISCELLANY: The NCAA is prohibiting the creation of new bowl games for the next three years after three teams with 5-7 records were needed to fill the record number of bowls last season.

Three cities – Austin, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – were in the process of trying to gain approval for new bowl games.

Letting bowls go dark if there are not enough teams with at least six wins and a .500 record at the end of the regular season is not a realistic option. The first priority for the oversight committee is to come up with guidelines for choosing 5-7 teams.

Flyers’ founder passes: Ed Snider, the Philadelphia Flyers founder whose “Broad Street Bullies” became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, has died after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 83.

Coyotes can GM: The Arizona Coyotes fired general manager Don Maloney. Maloney spent the past nine seasons as executive vice president and GM. The Coyotes made the playoffs from 2010-12, but have now missed four consecutive postseasons.

Top recruit picks Jayhawks: Highly touted recruit Josh Jackson, a Detroit native playing at a California prep school, has committed to playing basketball at Kansas next season.

Beavers QB stays: Oregon State freshman quarterback Seth Collins had requested a transfer following the season and signed a non-binding financial aid agreement with Northern Illinois, but he remained enrolled at OSU and had visited practices this spring.

Beavers coach Gary Andersen announced the return of Collins, who started seven games as a freshman last year.