Anthony Davis was flat on his back, grabbing his right ankle and wincing in pain.
And now the New Orleans Pelicans can only wonder if their best player will be ready for the NBA's opening night.
Davis sprained his ankle Wednesday in a pre-season game against the Houston Rockets in Beijing, part of the NBA Global Games.
The Rockets defeated the Pelicans 116-104.
Davis, an All-Star centre, was unable to play when last season ended because of shoulder and knee problems, and this season is presumably going to begin with him facing yet another injury issue.
"It's very frustrating,'' Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.
"It's very frustrating in that we can't seem to get a rhythm or we can't seem to put the team together because there's always someone missing.''
Davis has never played in more than 68 games in a regular season for New Orleans, missing an average of 17 contests in each of his first four seasons.
He needed surgery on his left knee to fix a problem in March.
New Orleans used 42 different starting line-ups in 82 games last season - only one of those line-ups for more than six games.
And this season is starting with an array of injury concerns for the Pelicans, even before Davis got hurt when he was going against Houston centre Nene during the first quarter.
Guard E'Twaun Moore (right heel contusion) got hurt Wednesday as well. Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter didn't even make the trip to China while dealing with the aftermath of knee surgeries.
Starting point guard Jrue Holiday is out indefinitely to be with his wife, former US. soccer star Lauren Holiday, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor while pregnant with the couple's first child.
The Holiday's daughter was born last month, and Lauren Holiday is expected to soon have surgery to remove the benign tumor .
