For the first time since 2019, the Dallas Mavericks will not compete in the NBA postseason after slipping to a 115-112 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

The loss was the latest blow in the Mavericks’ humiliating end-of-season slump.

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Dallas even led by 13 points at halftime, but were outscored by Chicago 61-45 in the second half as they watched their season slip from their grasp.

Remarkably, star man Luka Doncic top-scored for the Mavericks with a measly 13 from 13 minutes of action, with McKinley Wright also draining 13 points but had 24 minutes on the court.

The embarrassing defeat now means Oklahoma City Thunder is into the play-in tournament in the Western Conference as the 10th seed.

It means Australian star Josh Giddey will get his first taste of postseason action, albeit at the expense of fellow Aussie Josh Green at Dallas.

Kyrie Irving (right foot injury recover) and four Mavericks role players — Tim Hardaway Jr. (left ankle soreness), Josh Green (rest), Maxi Kleber (right hamstring injury recovery) and Christian Wood (rest) all sat out Saturday’s game.

As ESPN’s Tim McMahon explained on ‘NBA Today’, it was all part of a “transparent tank job” from the Mavericks after the Irving trade failed to produce required results.

“This is frankly just a transparent tank job,” he said.

“The Mavericks decided they would rather prioritise lottery position than the slim chance of trying to fight for a play-in spot. I talked to someone in the organisation today and they said, ‘Look as more games passed, our destiny became bleaker and bleaker’.

“The one thing the Mavericks potentially have a little bit of control of the ability to get in the play-in and by the way, they don’t believe they’re capable of doing anything in the playoffs if they did miraculously get there. They can have a little bit of control perhaps over whether they finish top-10 in the lottery odds.

“Why is that so important? Because the Mavericks’ pick is top-10 protected, they owe the New York Knicks a top-10 protected pick in the final payment of the Kristaps Porzingis trade. This is a bad situation for the Mavs, the worst case scenario though [was] that they land 11 in the lottery and that ain’t their pick, that’s going to Jalen Brunson’s team in New York.”

“We were going to play until told otherwise,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said before the game. “And today is the day that we’ve been told we’re going to do something different.” Kidd said the Mavs players who were on the floor wouldn’t “cheat the game” and indeed Dallas started off hot and led 67-54 at halftime.

But Chicago clawed back and Dallas’ defeat handed a Western Conference play-in berth to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Although the “tanking” maneuver could bolster Dallas’ position in the NBA draft, it’s an ignominious end to the season for a team that reached the Western Conference finals last year.

Elsewhere in the West, the Lakers beat the playoff-bound Phoenix Suns 121-107 and the New Orleans Pelicans downed the New York Knicks 113-105 to maintain their faint hopes of escaping the play-in.

D’Angelo Russell scored 24 points, Austin Reaves added 22 and LeBron James scored 16 for the Lakers, who took advantage of the absence of Suns stars Durant and Devin Booker.

The Warriors, led by 29 points from Klay Thompson and 25 from Stephen Curry, moved a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers for fifth in the West with a 119-97 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

The Memphis Grizzlies clinched the second seed, ahead of Sacramento, with a 137-114 victory over a Milwaukee Bucks team that rested half a dozen stars, including Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Jaren Jackson scored 36 points for the Grizzlies, who trailed by one at halftime but out-scored Milwaukee 37-15 in the third quarter to take charge.

“These games are important,” Jackson said. “Especially down the stretch in the Western Conference. We wanted to make sure we came out of this with a win.”

SIMMONS WATCHES ON AS BROOKLYN SEAL PLAY-OFFS SPOT TO LOCK IN SALIVATING MATCHUP

Elsewhere, Brooklyn Nets booked an NBA playoff berth as the Eastern Conference puzzle pieces fell into place, but suspense remained in the wild West with wins for Golden State, New Orleans and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Nets beat the Orlando Magic 101-84 and clinched the sixth seed in the East, avoiding the play-in tournament in which the seventh- through 10th-placed teams will fight for two remaining playoff berths.

The Nets actually knew they had secured the spot in the fourth quarter of the contest — when the Miami Heat fell 114-108 to the Washington Wizards to finish seventh in the East.

The Heat, clearly content to headline the play-in, rested six of their top players — including Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro — a strategy repeated around the league by both playoff-bound teams and those already eliminated.

Even with the boost from Miami, the Nets had reason to celebrate their guaranteed berth in a tumultuous season that saw coach Steve Nash sacked after a stumbling start and Kyrie Irving suspended in an anti-Semitism row.

All that before the stunning trades of Irving and superstar Kevin Durant in February.

“I think it speaks to the character of the group, the maturity and just the selflessness,” said Spencer Dinwiddie, who returned to Brooklyn from Dallas in the trade for Irving.

“I think everybody came in here and tried to figure out what their job was going to be and execute it to the best of their ability and push forward.” Atlanta clinched eighth place in the East despite a 136-131 overtime loss to the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers thanks to Boston’s 121-102 victory over Toronto.

Jayson Tatum scored 21 points for Boston and sat out the second half as the Celtics easily overcame the absence of Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon and Jaylen Brown — who was a late scratch after needing stitches for a cut on his right hand suffered in an accident at his home.

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