Leicester Riders boss Rob Paternostro said his side's gruelling start to the season had caught up with them as they suffered their first defeat at the weekend.
In their third set of back-to-back games in the opening month of the BBL Championship, Riders went down 80-71 at Glasgow Rocks on Sunday night, just 24 hours after a dramatic 88-87 fightback at home to Cheshire Phoenix.
Riders remain joint top of the table, alongside Newcastle Eagles, but also saw their chances at the weekend hampered by an injury to American star Tyler Bernardini.
Bernardini did not make it out of the first quarter against Cheshire, and did not play at Glasgow, while Anthony Rowe still short of match fitness and made only token appearances in both games.
Head coach Paternostro admitted his side had simply run out of gas against Glasgow.
"The back-to-back games were a factor but we also had to do it effectively without Tyler Bernardini and with Anthony Rowe is still finding his way back," he said.
"Bernardini stretches defences and is an important shot-maker for us, and at times on Sunday we struggled offensively.
"But credit the Rocks, they played good defence and we just did not take good enough care of the ball as well as we need to – 21 turnovers on the road is going to hurt you.
"We had a chance to win but we were never in our rhythm. In the end, I think the four games in eight days, with all the travel, caught up with us.
"We looked sluggish at times but we are definitely going to learn from this experience."
Riders now get the chance to focus on a single game this weekend when BBL new boys Bristol Flyers are the visitors to Loughborough University on Sunday evening (6.0).
Last season's BBL Championship and Play-Off winners, Newcastle, overcame Bristol 98-72. The Eagles made it a weekend double when they outlasted Cheshire Phoenix on Sunday, sneaking an 88-81 win.
Worcester Wolves made it three wins out of four with an 82-68 win over Surrey United, while Plymouth Raiders snatched a 83-79 win at Leeds Force.
It meant the Raiders bounced back from consecutive defeats and denied Leeds a first league win of the season after last week's BBL Cup success.
Sheffield Sharks powered past Manchester 96-80 but the Giants maintained their good home form with a 101-90 win over Surrey on Sunday.
Results: Newcastle 98 Bristol 72; Worcester 82 Surrey 68; Sheffield 96 Manchester 80; Leeds 79 Plymouth 83; Leicester 88 Cheshire 87; Bristol 62 Durham 71; Cheshire 81 Newcastle 88; Manchester 101 Surrey 90; Glasgow 80 Leicester 71; Plymouth 88 Durham 101.
