HOUSTON -- As a 17-year veteran, Dirk Nowitzki dreads back-to-backs under any circumstances.

To have been on the butt end of a back-to-back for all four meetings against a fierce rival? That strikes Nowitzki as strange, to say the least.

That’s the case for the Dallas Mavericks against the Houston Rockets this season. Without prompting, Nowitzki made a point to note it after Mavs’ 95-92 loss Saturday night.

“They’re catching a break this year,” Nowitzki said, replying to a question about whether the Mavs failed to take advantage of a break with Rockets center Dwight Howard missing the game due to a knee injury. “They’re catching us four times on back-to-backs. I’ve never even seen this in this league before, but it is what it is. You catch a break, you don’t catch a break, it doesn’t matter. You’ve still got to win a game.”

The Rockets hadn’t played since Wednesday night. They’ll be extraordinarily well rested for their next two meetings with the Mavs, too.

Houston is off the previous two days before hosting the Mavs on Jan. 25. Houston will have nine days off when they go to Dallas for their first game after the All-Star break on Feb. 20. In the final meeting between the teams of the regular season, the Rockets will also be on a back-to-back, hosting the Sacramento Kings the night before playing in Dallas on April 2.

“Hey, it kind of looks weird on paper,” Nowitzki said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this in this league, that you play one team four times on a back-to-back, especially a good team that you’re trying to fight with. But it is what it is. And, like I said, back-to-back or not, you’re up four in the last minute, you’ve got to find a way to close it out.”

Mavs owner Mark Cuban shrugged off the strange scheduling quirk, joking about a conspiracy theory.

“It’s the scheduler -- he’s a Rockets fan. He showed me his ring from ’94,” Cuban said sarcastically. “I don’t know, it’s just the way it is.”