The New Zealand Breakers face a nervous wait after losing import Zylan Cheatham to a leg injury in the 97-85 upset loss to the Adelaide 36ers.
Without a hand being laid on him, ex-NBA forward Cheatham pulled up sore changing direction early in the fourth quarter at Auckland's Spark Arena on Thursday night.
Cheatham was unable to put weight on his right leg as Breakers staff helped him from the floor.
He played no further part in the match, but there was no immediate update on his condition after full-time.
"It's too early. We'll pray for good news," said Breakers coach Mody Maor.
Any long-term injury would be troublesome for last season's runners-up, who have begun the campaign with only one win from four games.
Cheatham's injury proved a turning point. The Breakers had maintained a slim lead for most of the night as Cheatham (17 points, eight rebounds) combined with guard Will McDowell-White to strong effect.
But the Sixers went on a 10-0 run straight after the American went off, then moved in front for the first time since the opening quarter.
Sunday Dech nailed a three-pointer to give what was then the 36ers' biggest lead of the day (seven points).
They never again trailed, clinching the final quarter 27-14.
"Zylan's a focal point for us in everything that we do, he's also one of our leaders, one of our best competitors," Maor said.
"To see him go down like this, I think deflated us.
"New team, new people, new leaders, these are the kinds of things that we need to learn to deal with."
The 36ers, tipped as possible wooden spooners in the pre-season, have now won three of their past four games.
Mid-season recruit Dejan Vasiljevic (24 points, five assists) took centre stage for the Sixers after Cheatham went off.
The two-time NBL champion sank his 200th three-pointer in the first half and hit three more in the fourth quarter as the Sixers broke away.
"He's a tough SOB," 36ers coach CJ Bruton said.
"When it comes down to it, from the juniors, to the seniors, to the pros, that's who he is and he carries that. He's got respect from everyone, not only our team, but the league."
Sixers big man Isaac Humphries, who starred in an upset defeat of Perth last game, had been instrumental earlier on.
The centre (17 points, 11 rebounds) used his size advantage to dominate the paint and help Adelaide remain in the game, despite giving up 10 first-half turnovers as a team. They finished with a staggering 23.
The Breakers were left to rue wayward free-throw shooting (12 from 20 attempts), which meant they were never able to open up a double-digit lead.
Former Golden State Warriors forward Anthony Lamb (25 points) is acclimatising quickly to the NBL, though the Breakers recruit had too little help as he notched nine fourth-quarter points.
