Dirk gets his work in

Don’t count Dirk Nowitzki among those who think the preseason is meaningless. He relishes any chance to get on the court, whether it’s practice, a pickup game or the NBA Finals.

He sure got a good sweat in going more than 37 minutes in Tuesday’s thrilling 101-99 win over the Kings. Yes, even for a preseason game, it was thrilling.

“It was definitely fun,” Nowitzki said. “They started off playing really hard and I think that’s a credit to their new coach [Reggie Theus]. I saw him before the game and he said ‘I’m trying to make this guys play hard all the time.’ He did. They defend a little better and come after you more, so I guess that triggered us playing hard.”

Nowitzki finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block. That’s not your normal preseason line.

“It felt like this was a regular game for me,” he said. “I was a little winded in the first quarter. I felt like it was the fourth quarter. Once you get that first wind back, I felt good throughout the game. My jumper was a little short on a couple occasions.

“We’ve got four more games and a couple good tests. The schedule coming up now is a regular-season schedule, so that should be a good test. And then we’ve still got a good week to put some of the offense in and chart everything, and get ready for the big dance.”

Houston tonight is the first in a stretch of three games in four nights. The Mavs play their last three preseason games at American Airlines Center – Detroit tomorrow night, New Orleans on Sunday and Chicago on Tuesday. The real stuff gets started Halloween Night at Cleveland.