NBA playoff picture, standings, magic numbers: Warriors take crucial loss; Nets first in East to clinch spot

Meanwhile, the Pelicans are suddenly in play-in range in the Western Conference

The Dallas Mavericks pulverized the Warriors Tuesday night in what was a quietly important win for potential playoff seeding for both Dallas and Golden State, which we'll get into below. Also, the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Toronto Raptors to clinch a top-six playoff seed, the first Eastern Conference team to do so. The Boston Celtics, playing without Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker, took a disastrous loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder to fall into a tie with the No. 7 Miami Heat.  A quick reminder on the new play-in format: The top six seeds in each conference are in, with the final two seeds up for grabs via the new play-in tournament. In each conference, No. 7 will play No. 8, with the higher seed having to win one game while the lower seed would have to win two. The winner of that 7 vs. 8 series gets the No. 7 spot, with the loser awaiting the winner of the 9 vs. 10 play-in series to decide the No. 8 seed.  Below is what the playoff picture looks like entering play on Wednesday, April 28. Teams are listed in order of current seed along with the SportsLine projected finishing seed and different magic number scenarios. A "playoff spot" means a top-six seed. This post will continue to update for the remainder of the season as we keep track of these races down to the wire.