DALLAS -- Put your shovels down. Stop tossing dirt on Dirk Nowitzki.

His days as a dangerous scorer in the NBA apparently aren't done yet.

Oh, there had been plenty of reasons for Dirk doubt. Nowitzki's scoring averages had dipped each month of this season and were still trending in the wrong direction before the big German got back in the groove during this homestand, helping the Dallas Mavericks string together a three-game winning streak.

Dirk Nowitzki is averaging 20.3 points per game on 52.4 percent shooting, including 11-of-16 from 3-point range during the Mavs' three-game win streak. Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images

But that famous rainbow jump shot is suddenly a thing of beauty again. Nowitzki's numbers during the Mavs' modest winning streak: 20.3 points per game on 52.4 percent shooting, including 11-of-16 from 3-point range.

"He looks like Dirk again," center Tyson Chandler said.

"Dirk looks like Holger's in town," guard Devin Harris said.

Yes, Nowitzki's longtime mentor and shot doctor Holger Geschwindner is in town, packing a few pairs of blue jeans and some plaid flannel shirts and hopping on a flight from Germany about a month earlier than planned for his customary third visit of the season.

Nowitzki had consecutive 20-plus-point performances for the first time since January immediately after Geschwinder's arrival, including a 25-point outing in Wednesday's win over the Orlando Magic that was his best scoring night since Feb. 7. That's probably not a coincidence.

"I've been putting in some good work with Holger," said Nowitzki, who often gets in shooting sessions under Geschwindner's supervision twice a day. "Obviously, that's no secret."

It might not necessarily be the secret to Nowitzki's recent success, however.

The Mavs' schedule slowing down from a furious pace certainly seems to have helped. Nowitzki looks like he has more life in his 36-year-old legs than he has in a long time.

That, as much as a handful of extra Holger-run shooting sessions, offers a plausible explanation for how Nowitzki could knock down more 3s in a three-game span than he did during December or February.

The first signs of Nowitzki's emerging from his extended slump -- averaging 13.8 points on 41.7 percent field-goal shooting over a 20-game span -- came during last week's lopsided win over the Los Angeles Clippers, which occurred after two days off for Dallas and a few days before Geschwinder's arrival. It seems strange to consider a 14-point outing notable for the seventh-leading scorer in NBA history, but Nowitzki's 5-of-9 night marked just the second game since the All-Star break that he made at least half of his shots.

Another notable number from that game: Nowitzki played only 25 minutes. The Mavs had another two-day break between games before Nowitzki scored 22 points in a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, going 4-of-7 from 3-point range, the first time in two months he'd knocked down that many triples. After another day off, Nowitzki had a 25-point night, matching his season high for 3s made by swishing five of his six long-range attempts.

"Going into the break, I think we had the most games in the league," said Nowitzki, whose conditioning suffered a setback while he dealt with a mysterious stomach illness for much of December. "Then coming out of the break, we had the shortest break and then we had five games in seven days. A brutal stretch for us, but finally it slowed down a little bit.

"It allowed us to get a little healthy, mix in some good rest with good work. I think it helped us and helped me."

Good news: The Mavs' schedule doesn't really speed back up the rest of the season. They have only two back-to-backs left in the final 13 games. They get another two-day rest next week and the season's lone three-day gap between games other than the All-Star break in the first week of April.

Better news: The playoff schedule is played at a similar pace, providing hope that the face of the franchise can peak this season when the Mavs need him most. His recent performances offer proof that a fresh Nowitzki can still put up pretty numbers.