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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New York Knicks center Ariel Hukporti (55) fouls Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in New York. Wagner did not return to action after the play. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Knicks center Ariel Hukporti (55) fouls Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in New York. Wagner did not return to action after the play. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby, left, defends Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democrats demanded that federal immigration officers leave Minnesota after a U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally a man in Minneapolis, drawing hundreds of protesters onto the frigid streets and increasing tensions in a city already shaken by another shooting death weeks earlier.
Family members identified the man who was killed as Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse who protested President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in his city. After the shooting, an angry crowd gathered and protesters clashed with federal officers, who wielded batons and deployed flash bangs.
The Minnesota National Guard was assisting local police at the direction of Gov. Tim Walz, officials said. Guard troops were sent to both the shooting site and a federal building where officers have squared off with demonstrators daily.
Information about what led up to the shooting was limited, Police Chief Brian O’Hara said.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that federal officers were conducting an operation and fired “defensive shots” after a man with a handgun approached them and “violently resisted” when they tried to disarm him.
In bystander videos of the shooting that emerged soon after, Pretti is seen with a phone in his hand but none appears to show him with a visible weapon.
O'Hara said police believe he was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said during a news conference that Pretti had shown up to “impede a law enforcement operation.” She questioned why he was armed but did not offer details about whether Pretti drew the weapon or brandished it at officers.
The officer who shot him is an eight-year Border Patrol veteran, federal officials said.
The president weighed in on social media by lashing out at Walz and the Minneapolis mayor.
He shared images of the gun that immigration officials said was recovered and said: “What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?”
Trump, a Republican, said the Democratic governor and mayor are “are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was among several Democratic lawmakers demanding federal immigration authorities leave Minnesota. She also urged Democrats to refuse to vote to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying via social media: “We have a responsibility to protect Americans from tyranny.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer later said that Democrats will not vote for a spending package that includes money for DHS, which oversees ICE. Schumer’s statement increases the possibility that the government could partially shut down Jan. 30 when funding runs out.
Pretti was shot just over a mile from where an ICE officer killed 37-year-old Renee Good on Jan. 7, sparking widespread protests.
Pretti's family released a statement Saturday evening saying they are “heartbroken but also very angry” and calling him a kindhearted soul who wanted to make a difference in the world through his work as a nurse.
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed," the family statement said. “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
In a bystander video obtained by The Associated Press, protesters are heard blowing whistles and shouting profanities at federal officers on Nicollet Avenue.
An officer shoves a person who is wearing a brown jacket, skirt and black tights and carrying a water bottle. That person reaches out for a man, and the two link up, embracing. The man, wearing a brown jacket and black hat, seems to be holding his phone up toward the officer.
The same officer shoves the man in his chest and the two, still embracing, fall back.
The video shifts to a different part of the street and then comes back to the two individuals unlinking from each other. It shifts focus again and then shows three officers surrounding the man.
Soon at least seven officers surround him. One is on his back, and another who appears to have a canister in his hand strikes a blow to his chest. Several officers try to bring the man’s arms behind his back as he appears to resist. As they pull his arms, his face is briefly visible. The officer with the canister strikes him near his head several times.
A shot rings out, but with officers surrounding the man, it’s not clear where it came from. Multiple officers back off. More shots are heard. Officers back away, and the man lies motionless on the street.
The police chief appealed for calm, both from the public and from federal law enforcement.
“Our demand today is for those federal agencies that are operating in our city to do so with the same discipline, humanity and integrity that effective law enforcement in this country demands,” the chief said. “We urge everyone to remain peaceful."
Gregory Bovino of U.S. Border Patrol, who has commanded the administration’s big-city immigration campaign, said the officer who shot the man had extensive training as a range safety officer and in using less-lethal force.
“This is only the latest attack on law enforcement. Across the country, the men and women of DHS have been attacked, shot at,” he said.
Walz said he had no confidence in federal officials and the state would lead the investigation into the shooting.
But Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said during a news conference that federal officers blocked his agency from the scene even after it obtained a signed judicial warrant.
Demonstrations broke out in several cities across the country including New York, Washington and Los Angeles.
In Minneapolis, protesters converged at the scene of the shooting in Minneapolis despite dangerously cold weather — by the afternoon the worst of an extreme cold wave was over, but the temperature was still -6 degrees (-21 Celsius).
An angry crowd gathered after the shooting and screamed profanities at federal officers, calling them “cowards” and telling them to go home. One officer responded mockingly as he walked away, telling them: “Boo hoo.” Agents elsewhere shoved a yelling protester into a car. Protesters dragged garbage dumpsters from alleyways to block streets, and people chanted “ICE out now” and “Observing ICE is not a crime.”
As dark fell hundreds of people mourned quietly by a growing memorial at the site of the shooting. Some carried signs saying “Justice for Alex Pretti.” Others chanted Pretti's and Good's names. A doughnut shop and a clothing store nearby stayed open, offering protesters a warm place as well as water, coffee and snacks.
Caleb Spike said he came from a nearby suburb to show his support and his frustration. “It feels like every day something crazier happens,” he said. “What’s happening in our community is wrong, it’s sickening, it’s disgusting.”
Santana reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell'Orto, Tim Sullivan and Sarah Raza in Minnesota, Jim Mustian in New York, Michael Catalini in New Jersey and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.
Federal agents deploy tear gas and other munitions into a crowd of people near the intersection of 27th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis after a federal officer shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
People gather at the site where a federal officer shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
A person holds up their hands as law enforcement deploys a thick screen of teargas on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
