2014 NBA playoff standings: Suns reclaim playoff spot during 6-game win streak

Earlier in the week, it was the Dallas Mavericks who had made a play to grab the No. 8 seed back from Phoenix. Now, with the Suns in the middle of a six-game winning streak, they stand a game up on the Mavs in seventh place out West.

Dallas lost, 109-103, to the Clippers on Thursday, pushing Dirk and company further away from the pack. Memphis dropped its game on Friday to the Warriors, which catapulted the Suns ahead of both teams as the scrum at the bottom of the best conference in the NBA starts to get dicey. Memphis is in eighth place at the moment, but that could all change.

By beating the Grizzlies, Golden State got a tiny amount of breathing room as they rest in the middle of the pack at sixth place, just below the Portland Trail Blazers. The Warriors are a game back of Portland and just a game-and-a-half ahead of Phoenix. The Blazers haven't exactly been the measure of stability lately, but with LaMarcus Aldridge back, the Warriors will have a hard time sticking their nose in front of Portland.

Stratification at the top of the West is more abundant, but no clearer. The Clippers and Rockets sit at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, but square off Saturday night in a battle where a win for L.A. could mean solidifying third place, but a loss means swapping positions with Houston.

San Antonio looks to be in firm position atop the conference, in the midst of a 12-game winning streak that has the boys from Texas getting hot at just the right time. Oklahoma City is doing everything it can to catch the Spurs, but unless the Spurs suffer a catastrophic collapse, the Thunder will finish just below them at No. 2.

In the East, Atlanta is trying its hardest to drop out of the playoffs and give the Knicks a playoff spot, but New York does not seem inclined to take it. Both teams lost games this week, keeping the Hawks two games above the Knicks for the final spot in the conference playoff picture.

Toronto reclaimed the No. 3 spot over the Bulls as Chicago dropped a game to the Trail Blazers and the Raptors beat Boston. The rest of the positions in the Eastern Conference feel more settled than things out West, with the Heat and Pacers trading wins and losses to finish out the season a couple of games apart.