HOUSTON -- Dirk Nowitzki, no doubt watching on television Sunday evening back in Dallas, still has goals he'd like to accomplish in this season and beyond, although one that he knew was a long shot was taken off the board Sunday night.

Nowitzki was among a squadron of Mavericks who got left behind in Dallas to rest or recover from injuries as the skeleton crew headed by Harrison Barnes and Dennis Smith Jr. led the equivalent of a split squad in a 104-97 loss to Houston.

The official update said Nowitzki was suffering from left ankle effusion, basically excess fluid buildup usually attributable to overuse or inflammation.

That ended his goal of playing all 82 games, which he knew would be a tough sell at age 39. Not only tough to ensure his body could handle it, but that coach Rick Carlisle would allow it.

But starting the first 56 was quite the feat.

It was a logical game to give Nowitzki a chance to address an achy ankle, as well as to let J.J. Barea, who is recovering from a groin problem, and Wesley Matthews (back) a chance to recharge on the second night of a back-to-back games with only 22½ hours from tipoff to tipoff.

It also followed a night when the Mavericks used a finishing lineup of Smith, Yogi Ferrell, Doug McDermott, Maxi Kleber and Salah Mejri in the 130-123 win over the Lakers on Saturday.

That means Matthews, Nowitzki, Barnes and Dwight Powell, four starters, were on the bench at crunch time.

Draw your own conclusions about what that means, but it mattered not. The Mavericks still scraped out a win.

What matters going forward is that Nowitzki still has a remarkable 20th season going, and no matter what the Mavericks' record ends up being, having the franchise icon finish the season with some dignity is important.

And he knows it may not be with a lot of wins to get excited about.

"Try to enjoy it," he said recently when asked how he's making the best of this difficult season. "You never know if I'll come back next year or not. So I'm trying to make the best out of this and enjoy the camaraderie on and off the floor and just competing."

And he's enjoying being a mentor to Smith and the other young Mavericks. It is pretty unique to have a player who is No. 6 all time in NBA scoring and a 20-year veteran to be schooling Smith, considering he was barely born when Nowitzki was drafted into the NBA.

"I try to teach them how to be professional," Nowitzki said. "Sort of like Steve [Nash] and Mike Finley and A.C. Green did when I was a rookie. A.C. Green was 38, 39 years old my rookie season and he couldn't have been a better pro, always showing up and working hard. Hopefully, I can bring some of that. And on the court, space the floor for them, use my experience to help wherever I can."

Carlisle said he doesn't think the wear and tear on Nowitzki, Matthews or Barea will impact them long term. But it's a clear fact that the minutes for all those players are going to be watched closely when the Mavericks resume play after the All-Star break this coming weekend.

"These guys have been a little banged up all year," Carlisle said. "And Dirk's played in every single game. This one, he probably could have played, but he's just feeling it a little bit. And this is three games in four nights. Just a tough one. And Barea's still coming off the groin."

All of this, of course, dovetails nicely for the segment of Maverick fandom that believes the only goal this season is to finish with the best possible draft pick.

Having nine available bodies against the Rockets on Sunday was just another way to go about that. And the soldiers the Mavericks did have certainly were competitive. But the severe manpower shortage was bound to get them.