Jose Alvarado on Sunday led the New Orleans Pelicans to win against the Denver Nuggets with one of the best performances of his career. He broke personal bests after scoring 38 points and eight field goals from long range.
For Pelicans coach Zion Williamson, that performance underscores just how important Alvarado is to the Pelicans.
“For starters, Jose is that ‘underdog’ story everyone loves. He doesn’t have the physical-athletic attributes everyone expects from an NBA player, but he makes a huge impact.” Williamson said.
“So when people see what you can do, the mood becomes contagious. He gets the crowd going and you want to be a part of it. It is our surprise factor, in short.” Williamson added.
The opening minutes of Alvarado on the court, by the way, already signaled that a special performance was to come.
He came off the bench in the middle of the first period, but the Pelicans were already down by 14 points. The team, then, received an injection of courage.
Alvarado scored 20 of the next 24 points scored in the match to turn the score around, fourteen of which were from the point guard.
“Jose came in at that moment because we needed some help. He did much more, however, than we could have imagined.” Williamson said.
“Baskets from him were certainly very important. And it is impossible to ignore, above all, the energy with which he enters the court. I always say that he should just be Jose, because he’s exactly what we need,” he added.
The records set by Alvarado, however, were not just on a personal level. His 38 points were the most by a reserve and undrafted player in a Pelicans jersey.
However, it was the highest mark by a reserve not selected in the draft in NBA history. And finally, most importantly: the point guard’s highest possible lifetime score.
“I don’t remember having 38 points in a game before, as I was never a big scorer. But today everyone found me free and I hit the shots. I didn’t do anything different than any other match.” Alvarado said.
