When a star is sidelined with an injury, other players are challenged to take on bigger roles until the hurt player returns to the rotation.
The Niigata Albirex BB, missing center Paul Butorac for a month due to a finger injury, relied on the contributions of numerous players in their 92-84 home win over the Rizing Fukuoka on Saturday.
The quality matchup pitted the bj-league's No. 3 Eastern Conference team (Niigata) vs. the Western Conference's No. 2 team (Fukuoka).