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The Knicks are catching an injury break.BOSTON — The Knicks are catching an injury break.
Paolo Banchero, the leading scorer for the Magic, will miss Sunday’s game at MSG after being diagnosed with a high ankle sprain.
Banchero, an All-Star power forward, sustained the injury in the fourth quarter of Friday’s loss to the Timberwolves.
In an opening-night loss to the Hawks earlier in the week, Banchero dropped 35 points on an efficient 10-for-12 shooting.
The Magic, like the Knicks, are 0-2.
In fact, the Knicks, who fell to the Celtics on Friday, are the first defending champs to lose their first two games since the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.
“We break the season into five-game segments,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said before New York’s comeback fell short in Boston. “There are marks that we like to hit in those five games and it kind of gives us a good feel of where you were, in a fair amount of games, and to see if you can make progress in the next five.
“Obviously you want to go 5-0, you’ll take 4-1, and then maybe you have to take 3-2. But if you’re doing anything less than that, you know that nobody is reaching their potential.”
Ringgate prompted another statement.
A day after the Knicks announced they were handing out 275 championship rings to employees at the cost of $3.7 million, an MSG spokesperson clarified Saturday that it was always the plan and not a response to the backlash of a report in The Athletic about empty ring boxes and callous cybersecurity tests.
As The Post reported Friday, the Knicks were always going to give out the rings — including to the entire assistant coaching staff.
“There is a great deal of misinformation regarding the championship rings,” Saturday’s statement read. “The plan has always been to distribute more than 275 rings and jewelry to the people in the organization who were part of last season’s success. As is common with many teams, the players were always supposed to get their rings as part of the opening-night ceremony and then everyone else will receive theirs in about four to six weeks.
“Regarding the phishing email, the process of securing and reminding our employees to protect our IP was not a mistake but the choice to use the ring to do so was a mistake and we apologize to our employees and the fans. Winning the championship was a great moment for all New Yorkers. Those who choose to focus on the negative are missing the joy that comes with the team’s accomplishment.”