The New York Knicks waited 53 years to win the NBA title.
But the honeymoon period is already endangered two games into the championship defense.
The Knicks will look to snap their early skid Sunday night, when they host the Orlando Magic in a battle of winless Eastern Conference contenders.
Both teams were off Saturday after suffering defeats Friday night. A fourth-quarter comeback bid by the visiting Knicks fell short in a 107-103 loss to the Boston Celtics. Meanwhile, the host Magic lost star forward Paolo Banchero, as they were routed by the Minnesota Timberwolves, 115-93.
The Knicks are the first reigning NBA champion to drop their first two games since the Dallas Mavericks opened 0-3 in 2011-12. New York players received their championship rings and the banner commemorating the title was raised at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night before a 106-100 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
As was the case Tuesday, the Knicks struggled Friday to overcome self-inflicted mistakes along with an untimely third-quarter drought.
The Knicks have committed 30 total turnovers in their first two games.
On Tuesday, the 76ers took the lead for good by ending the third on an 11-0 run. New York fell behind by double digits again late in the third quarter Friday, when Jayson Tatum scored five unanswered points to end the period and extend Boston’s lead to 83-73.
The Knicks got within 99-98 on Jalen Brunson’s fallaway jumper with 1:41 left in the fourth, but Tatum put the game away by mounting his own 7-2 run.
“There’s positives and negatives to takes from this game,” Brunson said Friday night. “We know what we have to do and the things I think are glaring to us are controllable. So that’s a positive we can take from this.”
Banchero offered similarly upbeat thoughts to The Orlando Sentinel Friday, when the Magic also fell to 0-2 after being outscored 58-48 in the second half, including 29-15 in the third quarter.
“Obviously two frustrating losses, but it’s a long season,” Banchero said. “So you can’t overreact. Same way if we would be 2-0, you know? You can’t overreact to two games.”
But the early-season path grew tougher for the Magic on Saturday, when the club acknowledged Banchero suffered a low-grade right ankle sprain while playing 26-plus minutes Friday.
The Orlando Sentinel reported Banchero will not travel with the Magic to New York. ESPN reported Saturday that most players miss four-to-six weeks with such an injury.
The Magic were already without guard Anthony Black (sprained right ankle), and forwards Noah Penda (right hamstring), Jonathan Isaac (left knee) and Izaiyah Nelson (left ankle). Black is listed as questionable for Sunday while Penda, Isaac and Nelson were all ruled out Saturday.
Banchero, who was selected first overall by the Magic in the 2022 draft, was limited to 46 games in 2024-25 due to a torn right oblique.
