The Orlando Magic are playing the New York Knicks on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, and they just dominated the host team in the first half. However, Orlando is also dealing with concerning injury news in the contest, with star power forward Paolo Banchero leaving the game with an apparent lower-body injury.
“@OrlandoMagic INJURY UPDATE: Paolo Banchero, left groin strain. He is questionable to return,” the Magic communication department’s official account shared via a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Before he left the game, the former Duke Blue Devils star had recorded four points with four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block, while shooting 1-for-4 from the floor in 12 minutes of action.
The Magic are looking to keep their momentum going following a 115-112 win at home on Monday over the Portland Trail Blazers. The Knicks have been one of the hottest teams in the league of late, as they entered Wednesday’s game having won all of their previous five assignments, so a win against New York by the Magic would send a strong message not just across the Eastern Conference but to the rest of the Association as well, despite a slow start to the campaign.
But the Magic will have to complete the job versus New York without Banchero, who walked into the Knicks game leading Orlando in scoring and rebounding.
Orlando has already announced that Banchero is done for the rest of the game.
In his first 11 games in the 2025-26 NBA regular season, Banchero averaged 23.3 points and 9.1 rebounds, while knocking down 46.6 percent of his attempts from the field.
While Bachero is out, the Magic will rely more on the likes of Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane, Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr.
