Australia captain Matt Nielsen threw Dickel to the ground, and players from both sides squared up as tempers boiled over.
Dickel's availability will be a relief, especially as guard Corey Webster had already been sent home for breaching team protocol.
The Tall Blacks will need to improve if they're to upset Australia in the next two games.
Mika Vukona and Kirk Penney were excellent, Penney chiming in with a game-high 30 points, but the two received little help from their teammates - no other New Zealander reached double figures.
Australia will be confident that if they shut down Penney, they shut down the Tall Blacks.
The Tall Ferns women's team is also scrapping for its Olympic survival tonight. They looked like they would be beaten easily when they trailed Australia 43-26 at halftime in game one, but staged an impressive second-half comeback to draw within eight points in the final quarter before losing 77-64.