NEW YORK (AP) — Orlando star forward Franz Wagner left the Magic’s loss to the New York Knicks with a lower leg injury during the first quarter Sunday.
Wagner was going up for a dunk on a lob pass from teammate Anthony Black when he was fouled hard by Knicks center Ariel Hukporti with 4:43 remaining in the period. Wagner appeared to land awkwardly on his left leg and immediately grabbed at the area below his knee before needing help going to the Magic
locker room.
Hukporti’s foul was reviewed for a flagrant foul, but the call of common foul was confirmed.
The Magic ruled Wagner out for the remainder of the game and said in a statement he would be re-evaluated upon the team’s return to Orlando. The Magic are slated to host the Miami Heat in the NBA Cup quarterfinals Tuesday at Kia Center.
“You never want to see anybody go down, but that hurt my heart, watching him hit the floor,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Now I’m just praying that everything is going to be OK with him, but we just don’t like to see that happen to him, especially (Wagner), who does everything the right way at all times he’s on the floor.”
Wagner is the Magic’s leading scorer and is tied for 20th in the NBA with 23.4 points per game. He had scored seven points on 3-for-4 shooting in seven minutes before leaving the game.
“You never like seeing nobody go down, whether it’s your team or the opposing,” Magic guard Jalen Suggs said. “We’re praying for (Wagner’s) recovery, and we’ll see what it’s like when we get back home, but our thoughts and our love are with him. We’re a family, so whenever you see one of your own go down, it’s tough.”
The Knicks outscored the Magic 17-9 over the remainder of the quarter and led 35-31 after one. Orlando rebounded by outscoring New York 24-19 in the second and had a 55-54 halftime lead.
“I think it took us a minute to respond, which is natural. One of your brothers goes down, it takes a moment,” Mosley said. “My heart hurt as soon as he went down, so it’s hard to get yourself back in that space. But our guys, I think as time went on, they got themselves back into it.”
The Magic just got Paolo Banchero back in their last game, a 106-105 win over the Heat on Friday, after he missed 10 in a row with a left groin injury. Yet, Orlando’s dynamic combination of Banchero and Wagner lasted less than five quarters before Wagner went down.
“We’ve been here before, and you always lean on the things that have happened in the past a little bit, to take that experience, but we’ve got to learn from it,” Mosley said. “We talked about our depth and our defense being our strong suit, so our guys are going to have to step up to the plate depending on how long guys are out for.”
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