The NZ Breakers' horror season in the Australian NBL just got worse, after Tall Blacks star Corey Webster suffered a serious-looking ankle injury against Adelaide 36ers.
With the sharpshooter hitting on all cylinders, the Auckland-based side began strongly to trail by just one point through the opening quarter.
But once Webster was helped off the court less than two minutes into the second period, his team quickly fell behind to eventually succumb 117-100, leaving them winless on the road (0-5) so far this campaign.
When he left, Webster had compiled 14 points, including four three-pointers, in less than 12 minutes.
The Breakers were already short-handed, with centre Rob Loe and American Scottie Hopson sidelined by injury, and American Glen Rice Jnr suspended and charged with assault, after an Auckland bar incident.
Forward Tom Vodanovich was allowed to play, after he was met by police off the flight home from Perth last week and questioned about an incident on board.
They led early, but Adelaide scored the opening seven points of the second stanza and stretched their margin to 20 points before halftime. The margin reached 27 midway through the final period, before Sixers coach Joey Wright emptied the development players off his bench and allowed the Breakers to save some face down the stretch.
American guard Sek Henry came off the bench to lead his team's scoring with 18 points, while teenage phenom RJ Hampton had 15 points and six assists.
The Breakers managed just 12 assists on their 33 field goals, suggesting their scoring efforts were largely individual.
Defensively, they allowed their rivals to rattle up their biggest score of the season, shooting 63 percent from the field and 63 percent (7/11) from beyond the arc. American Eric Griffin led the Sixers with 24 points, shooting 11/13 from the field.
The result leaves the Breakers tied at the bottom of the NBL table and facing nearest rivals Illawarra Hawks at home on Saturday.
