Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki will rest Saturday night against the winless Philadelphia 76ers.

It’s the first game Nowitzki, 36, a 17-year veteran, will not play this season. He played all but two games last season, sitting out once to rest and missing the other game because of an illness.

“We know it’s the right thing to do,” coach Rick Carlisle told reporters in Philadelphia. “He needs to sit tonight and it wouldn’t matter who we were playing. He needs to sit. It’s not because we’re playing a team that’s got a struggling record. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about the long-term, big picture situation and there will be more of these along the way.”

Nowitzki struggled during Friday night’s win over the Toronto Raptors, scoring 15 points on 6-of-19 shooting, including 1-of-7 from 3-point range. Nowitzki is in a 3-point slump, going 4-of-27 from long range over the past four games.

Nowitzki played more than 30 minutes in each of those four games, including a season-high 39 minutes in Wednesday’s overtime win over the New York Knicks, when he scored a season-high 30 points. Nowitzki played more than 30 minutes only twice in the Mavs' first 13 games.

Point guard Jameer Nelson, who missed the past two games because of back spasms, is listed as questionable against the 76ers. Guard Raymond Felton (ankle) is not available.