Jacqueline Mukarugema stood by the bar at the Garden’s Delta Club on Saturday night, but she wasn’t purchasing drinks. The new jerseys of her son, Frank Ntilikina, had just arrived in time for the Knicks home opener, and she was preparing to buy a bunch off the rack to bring back to France.

Mukarugema had flown in from France just days before partly to watch Ntilikina’s Garden debut, but also to arrange his new White Plains apartment that he just moved into.

Ntilikina, the Knicks rookie point guard from Strasbourg, missed the home opener with a sprained left ankle and will sit Tuesday’s game in Boston. Minor injuries have been a big part of Ntilikina’s early narrative as their first lottery pick since Kristaps Porzingis.

But the smile on Mukarugema’s face as she put on her new “11’’ jersey — finally available for purchase — was priceless. As the story goes, Mukarugema escaped the atrocities of war-torn Rwanda and brought her two oldest sons to Belgium, where she had Frank. They moved to France when Ntilikina was 3.

Mukarugema speaks French and Swahili and just enough English to scrape by.

“Fans have so much expectations,’’ Mukarugema told The Post. “But he’s young and needs to learn and progress. Let’s see in time. They will be proud, but he needs time.”

The attention has been a bit much — with a gigantic Nike billboard overlooking the Garden. Ntilikina, 19, signed a Nike deal previously in France, which has been transferred to the U.S. The mother notices how often he gets stopped on the street by excited Knicks fans.

“Yes, but he needs to prove himself,’’ Mukarugema said.

“It’s crazy to see that,’’ she added of the billboard. “I m happy for him. But he’s just in the beginning of the journey. He has to work so much.’’

After leading Strasbourg to the French League Finals in June, Ntilikina missed the summer league in July with a knee issue, then missed four of the five preseason games with a knee bruise. Then came his tumble at Thursday’s practice after he played seven minutes of the season opener in OKC.

“Every player can have something,’’ Ntilikina’s mother said. “He’s just beginning the season. He needs to care of himself. After, he’ll be good, I believe. But he’s sad. He wanted to play [Saturday]. But it’s 82 [games]. He’s young. He needs to take care of his body.”

Ntilikina lived at his agent, Rich Felder’s, house in New Jersey until late last week. Mukarugema is now in charge of decorating the new White Plains apartment after furniture just arrived over the weekend.

She will attend Friday’s Garden game against Brooklyn before departing for France.

“I’ve helped a little bit — I’m confident he will be strong living on his own, and he’s got his agent here,” Mukarugema said. “I was just here for support.”

Mukarugema is on a leave of absence from her job as a hospital administrator, contemplating resigning if she feels Ntilikina needs her more in New York. Her other two sons still are in Strasbourg and also work in healthcare — the oldest, Yves, 30, is a back surgeon and Brice, 26, a physical therapist.

“It’s very big city, Strasbourg is so small,’’ she said.