When the Magic traveled to New York in mid-November, they saw Paolo Banchero suffer a left groin strain in the first half of the 12th game of the season that held him out for the following 10 contests.

Banchero made his return Friday against Miami, but Orlando found itself in a familiar spot during the opening frame of Sunday’s road game that featured a noon tip-off time inside Madison Square Garden.

Franz Wagner, a budding All-Star in his own right, went up for an alley-oop pass from Anthony Black and landed awkwardly when his left leg buckled underneath him with 4:43 left in the first quarter. Wagner was in clear and immediate pain when he grabbed his left knee laying down on the court. He needed to be assisted to the locker room while putting no weight on his left leg.

At the end of the first quarter, the Magic said Wagner would not return due to what the team described as a lower left leg injury. The Magic said Wagner will be re-evaluated upon the team’s return to Orlando.

Jamahl Mosley’s squad fell to the Knicks, 106-100, after it was unable to overcome a double-digit deficit in the second half despite a late push in the fourth quarter.

“You never want to see anybody go down, but that hurt my heart watching him hit the floor,” Mosley said about Wagner after the loss. “I’m just praying everything is going to be OK with him.

“You just don’t like to see that happen to anyone, especially [Franz] who tries to do everything the right way at all times as he’s on the floor,” Mosley added.

Jalen Suggs (17 points), Desmond Bane (16) and Banchero (16) combined for 49 points, but New York’s Jalen Brunson (game-high 30), OG Anunoby (21) and Josh Hart (17) totaled 68 in the six-point victory.

Black added 14 points off the bench, but the Knicks outscored the Magic 50-42 in the paint, holding them below their game average. The Magic had entered the contest scoring 54.7 points in the paint per game, the fourth-most league-wide according to NBA.com.

In addition to its inability to score near the rim, Orlando failed to take care of the ball as New York scored 11 points off 12 total Magic turnovers.

Neither side the shot ball particularly well from beyond the arc. The Magic shot 29% from 3-point range (12 for 42) and the Knicks weren’t much better at 31% (11 for 35). Banchero accounted for three of Orlando’s made 3s while Anunoby shot 5 for 7 from distance.

Franz Wagner’s older brother Moe Wagner (who is recovering from a torn left ACL suffered last December) and rookie Noah Penda helped him into the locker room in the first quarter.

Prior to the injury, Franz Wagner had notched 7 points, 3 rebounds, an assist and a steal in 7 minutes of first-quarter action. Orlando led 22-18 at the time of the injury.

“You never like seeing [anybody] get hurt whether it’s your team or the opposing, so we’ll be praying for [Franz’s] recovery,” Suggs said about his teammate. “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,” he added.

The Magic took a 55-54 lead into halftime before the Knicks outscored them 28-18 in the third frame. Suggs himself exited the game with 5:44 left in the fourth when he was grabbing his groin area.

He previously missed one game (Nov. 16) due to a sore right groin but spoke confidently about his health after the game.

“I’m good; I’m good,” Suggs said. “We’ll take care of the body when we get back home. The NBA season is brutal. It’s so tough on the body, so keep taking care of it, keep being detailed with that and we’ll be straight for Tuesday.”

Orlando (14-10) returns home to host Miami in the NBA Cup quarterfinals Tuesday. The Magic could potentially face the Knicks (16-7) again in the following game after the quarterfinal depending on Tuesday’s results.

If Orlando and New York advance, they’d meet each other in Las Vegas for the Cup semifinals on Saturday. If both the Magic and Knicks fall in the quarterfinals (New York faces Toronto), the Magic would find themselves back at Madison Square Garden next Sunday to fill out their 82-game regular season schedule.

Of course, the health of Franz Wagner is top of mind for the Magic.

“It took a minute for us to respond, which is natural when one of your brothers goes down — it takes a moment,” Mosley said. “[As] I said, my heart hurt as soon as he went down.

“So it’s hard to get yourself back in that space but our guys, as time went on, they got themselves back into it.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

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Magic vs. Heat

When: 6 p.m., Tuesday, Kia Center

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