Pulling a lucky seven is needed at this point

Seven games to go, a playoff berth still at stake.

The Clippers resume their pursuit of a postseason invitation tonight against the formidable Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.

The Clippers are coming off a 96-93 loss to the Denver Nuggets, who rallied in the fourth quarter Saturday at Staples Center. The Mavericks beat the Clippers, 115-83, here Dec. 22, and have a 5 1/2 -game lead over the Phoenix Suns for the Western Conference’s No. 1 seeding.

It seems the Clippers won’t have an easy path to the playoffs in their remaining games, which is what they expected.

“They’re all tough now, and that’s just the understanding that you have,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “We’re not in yet, so you just have to focus on every game and what you have to do that day.

“That’s how we’ve looked at it. I don’t know any other way to look at it.”

The Clippers play the New Orleans Hornets in Oklahoma City on Tuesday and are off Wednesday. They play the Lakers for the final time in the regular season Thursday and play host to Portland on Friday.

Sacramento visits Staples on April 15, the Clippers play at Phoenix on April 17 and end their schedule on their home court April 18 against New Orleans.

In the Clippers’ final stretch, Dallas, the Lakers and Phoenix are their only opponents with winning records, but the Clippers said they won’t take anyone lightly.

“Anyone can beat you, so you just have to keep playing hard,” Chris Kaman said. “The biggest thing still for us is that when we’re up big, we’re letting people come back on us. We should just bury them in the ground.”

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Kaman missed nine of 13 shots from the field, including eight in a row in the Clippers’ loss to Denver on Saturday. He is shooting 45.1% this season.

“He got deep catches, he made good moves and he had point-blank shots,” Dunleavy said. “Some went in and out.”

TONIGHT

at Dallas, 5:30 PDT, Channel 5

Site -- American Airlines Center.

Radio -- 710.

Records -- Clippers 37-38, Mavericks 63-13.

Record vs. Mavericks -- 1-1.

Update -- The Mavericks have the best record in the NBA. Forward Dirk Nowitzki (24.7 points, 9.1 rebounds) is expected to receive strong consideration for the league’s most-valuable-player award.

jason.reid@latimes.com