Creek lost the battle of the Horsham basketballers in his last contest, going down to Shaun Bruce's Sydney Kings 98-81.

Creek managed 14 points and six rebounds in the match, while Bruce continued to excel as a sixth-man off the bench, scoring eight points and dishing out six assists.

It was the Phoenix's fourth loss across their last five contests, as the side has recently struggled to recapture early season form.

The NBL's newest club started the season with four wins from its first five games, and looked a chance to be a surprise title contender in its inaugural NBL season.

But the team has recently started struggling, and Creek too has failed to replicate his outstanding start to the season.

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Creek was within league MVP calculations early in the season, but since a 25-point outing against the Illawara Hawks on December 28, he has failed to score more than 16 points across the Phoenix's next five games.

He is averaging 19.9 points per game across the season.

During the Phoenix's loss against Perth on Friday, January 22, NBL commentator Liam Santamaria said that Creek had been struggling with Achilles soreness across the last month.

South East Melbourne Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell said his side had been plagued by minor injuries, making it difficult to build consistency.

"We've stalled a little in recent times, and there's reasons for that," Mitchell said after the loss against the Kings.

"We've struggled to get teams on the practice court which has stalled our progression going forward.

"But that's an NBL season; you see form fluctuate throughout the year, you get guys banged up that we are struggling to get out there."

The Phoenix are now 9-13 for the season and sit in second-last on the NBL ladder, with six games remaining in the season.

The Phoenix will be hoping to stop the rut against the Brisbane Bullets on Thursday night.

It is a total contrast of fortunes for Horsham's Shaun Bruce, as his Sydney Kings sit atop the ladder with genuine championship aspirations.

Bruce has been a revelation for the side this season, running the second-team off the bench and surprising everyone on his way to a career-best season.

Bruce is widely considered a chance to claim the NBL's sixth-man of the year award for his tremendous season.

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