Paolo Banchero missed 34 games, then came back and scored 34 points.
The Orlando forward — back in the lineup for the first time in almost 2 1/2 months while recovering from a torn oblique muscle — gave his team a chance on Friday night, but the Magic fell to the Milwaukee Bucks 109-106.
“I didn't see that one coming, I can tell you that,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “But that's who he is. The kid's been working his tail off to get back in. And so, what he was able to do with poise, taking the right shots at the right time, defending, taking matchups on, this tells you how much he wants to go get it and get after it. That's who he is. He's a star for a reason.”
Banchero was 11 for 21 from the field, plus added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in 27 minutes.
“I had a lot of fun,” said Banchero, an All-Star for the first time last season. “I feel all right. Little sore. I think I performed pretty good.”
He said the long recovery time following his Oct. 30 injury in a game against Chicago tested his patience, but he looked back to normal on Friday.
“I don't think I’ve been in bad spirits at all,” Banchero said in an interview with The Associated Press regarding his return. “But it is frustrating. You know, I’ve never missed this much time since I started playing basketball. Going so long without playing, I mean, I was so ready for the season and then going down so early into it just makes you ask ‘why?’ sometimes.”
He got hurt in the fifth game of the year. The Magic played their 40th on Friday, one shy of the season's midway point.
They did better than most probably expected during Banchero's absence.
The Magic — who have been dealing with a slew of other injuries, Franz Wagner's torn oblique and Moritz Wagner's season-ending torn ACL among them — entered Friday in the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference. They lost their first four without Banchero, then went 19-11 during the remainder of his absence. The Bucks leapfrogged the Magic for the No. 4 spot with Friday's win, sending Orlando to No. 5 in the East.
“There's a team-wide belief in each other that anyone can step up at any moment,” Banchero said. “Guys put in the work just to be ready for the moment. And you've seen that with different guys stepping up every night. It was just really encouraging for me to see us respond like that. Guys getting this experience, coming through in tight games, close games against good teams, that's only going to make us better.”
Banchero didn't take time away from the team with his injury. He sat in on coaches' meetings at times and was always on the bench with teammates for games, cheering at times and consoling at others.
“I had to try to find the positives,” Banchero said. “I’ve been able to sit and watch and just learn the game through a different lens. But I, for sure, have a chip on my shoulder now. Feels like some stuff I had was taken from me for a little bit. And now that I'm back, I might have to make up for lost time.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) makes a shot over Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero, center, goes after a loose ball in front of Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez (11) and forward Taurean Prince (12) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) looks to pass the ball as Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) reacts after making shot against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
A judge on Tuesday denied a Maui anesthesiologist's request to be released on bail while he fights an attempted murder charge on allegations that he tried to kill his wife on a Honolulu hiking trail.
Gerhardt Konig previously pleaded not guilty. His wife wrote in a petition for a temporary restraining order against him that they were hiking in Honolulu in March when he grabbed her, pushed her toward the edge of a cliff, attempted to inject her with a syringe and then bashed her head with a rock. Konig suggested they go on the hike while the couple were on a trip to celebrate the wife’s birthday, the petition said.
In denying the motion for bail, Judge Paul Wong said there's evidence that Konig hid from police, presents a serious flight risk and is a danger to the victim.
She has since filed for divorce. An attorney representing her is asking a judge to withhold the divorce case, filed earlier this month, from the public to protect the privacy of the couple’s young children and because of the “significant and arguably intrusive media coverage regarding the underlying events which precipitated this divorce.”
The Associated Press does not name people who are victims of domestic violence unless they consent to be identified or decide to tell their stories publicly.
What is known as “Pali Puka” trail is closed because the route is unsafe, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said. Hikers often enter through a small clearing near a popular lookout point that offers stunning views despite a warning: “Area Closed! Do not go beyond this sign.”
At one point, Konig grabbed her by her upper arms and started pushing her toward the cliff’s edge while yelling that he was sick of her, she said.
They began wrestling, and she screamed and pleaded for him to stop, fearing for her life, the petition said. During the struggle, she said he took a syringe from his bag and tried to inject her with something.
She said that she bit his arm in an attempt to defend herself.
He appeared to calm down, but then grabbed a nearby rock and “began bashing me repeatedly on the head with it,” she said.
Konig’s wife suffered major cuts to her head — from the jagged, softball-sized lava rock — and required surgery, prosecutors said.
While the couple were in Oahu, the two young sons stayed home on Maui with a nanny and family, according to the wife’s petition filed in family court. A judge signed an order saying Konig must stay away from her and their children.
Prosecutors, in opposing the bail request, said Konig “faces a realistic prospect of life imprisonment." He tried to flee after the attack and called his adult son, who he told he “tried to kill your stepmom” and told him he would turn off his phone so that police could not locate him, prosecutors said in a court filing.
He also hid in the bushes until nightfall, even though the attack happened in the morning, and led police on a search, prosecutors said.
When he was apprehended, he said, “Wait, she's not dead?" according to prosecutors.
Defense attorney Thomas Otake called it a “very small rock” and argued doctors said there wasn’t a substantial risk of death or a concussion from the wife’s injuries.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joel Garner said Konig was stashing lethal drugs at home, tried three different ways to kill his wife and has ties to South Africa, where he was born.
The petition for a restraining order said that in December, Konig accused his wife of having an affair.
In a court document filed Monday, prosecutors said Konig was storing at home syringes, needles and vials labeled anesthesia medication. On March 27, a few days after the alleged attack and when his wife was preparing to fly back to Honolulu for his grand jury proceedings, she discovered a fanny pack belonging to her husband that contained several syringes and several vials of what appeared to be drugs, the filing said.
“That’s not unusual that a doctor who practices medicine would have drugs,” Otake said, noting that none of the drugs were found on Oahu where the attack took place.
Konig has been held without bail since his indictment on March 28. In a motion seeking “bail at a reasonable amount,” his defense attorneys said Konig, 46, has no prior criminal convictions.
In court, Otake suggested bail between $100,000 and $200,000, arguing that while the divorce is pending he doesn’t have access to marital assets.
Otake said his client intends to go to trial: “This is going to be a ‘he said, she said’ trial.”
This version corrects the date the wife found syringes and vials at home. Prosecutors say she found them on March 27, not May 27.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the national domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233 in the U.S.
FILE - Hawaii doctor Gerhardt Konig appears before a judge via video during an arraignment hearing after being indicted on allegation of attempting to kill his wife, April 7, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)
