In front of his friends and family, Jose Alvarado turned in a career night to help lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Alvarado, who was born in Brooklyn, produced a career-high 13 points, four rebounds and four steals in the 102-91 win over the Knicks. He went 6-of-9 from the field, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range, in a season-high 20 minutes of action.
The undrafted guard from Georgia Tech had 20 friends and family in attendance, including his parents and little brother. He revealed that teammates Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart helped pick up the tab on the extra tickets needed to accommodate everyone.
Alvarado reflected on what the evening meant to him.
I don’t know how to say it. Just seeing my parents with my jerseys and all of the folks that came out to see me, means a lot. If you would have told me this would happen five years ago, I wouldn’t believe it. It is just a dream come true. I’m at the Garden and I won, and I’m doing the interview with y’all and my people are right there. You can’t make that up. It is just a great win for us and I’m just so happy. Y’all don’t understand how happy I am.
With his friends and family there, Alvarado stepped up and helped the Pelicans finish off a three-game road trip with a win. They had dropped their first two games of the trip but bounced back on Thursday with a dominating second-half performance, leading by as many as 25 points.
“Jose was fantastic,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said. “The moment he entered into the game, he changed it with his effort, physicality, picking up full court and energy, and that led to his ability to spark us on the offensive end. The basketball finds energy and Jose came in and gave us a huge lift off the bench tonight.”
"I'm at the Garden, I won, and I'm doing the interview with y'all. And my people are right there… you can't make that up."
13 points, 4 steals, and 4 assists off the bench. What an incredible evening for Jose Alvarado 💛 @PelicansNBA | #WBD pic.twitter.com/QrQAnj3sst
— Bally Sports New Orleans (@BallySportsNO) January 21, 2022
With the Pelicans dealing with the health and safety protocol and other injuries as of late, Alvarado has played a more prominent role with the team. He has appeared in each of the last nine games, averaging 4.7 points, 2.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.4 rebounds.
Alvarado has seemingly stayed ready for his recent opportunity and the entire team has been cheering him on. He is often the first in the gym and the last to leave after practice, something that has really resonated with his teammates this season.
Said Hart:
He’s just a great dude. He’s full of joy, full of love. I think that’s the biggest thing. We see that. We see the hard work, we see him out there just grinding. Guys like that, you always want them to do well — in basketball, but also in life. He has all our confidence and trust when he’s on the court and we’re going to keep relying on him to give us energy and a spark off the bench.
The Pelicans have a few days off before returning to play on Monday versus the Indiana Pacers, which will give Alvarado some time to reflect on his career performance at home.
Certainly, it will be a night he won’t forget for a long time.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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