Called upon, Jose Alvarado delivered.
The New York City native provided a spark off the bench, although it wasn’t enough, as the Knicks lost home-court advantage in this first-round series. They dropped Game 2, 107-106, blowing a 12-point fourth-quarter lead to the Hawks at the Garden.
Acquired at the trade deadline from the Pelicans, Alvarado fell out of the rotation late in the season. But with Miles McBride and Landry Shamet struggling, coach Mike Brown went to Alvarado.
In nine minutes, the pesky guard had three assists and two rebounds and the Knicks outscored the Hawks by five.
In his second game as a Knick, Alvarado scored 26 points. He was going to be a major factor, until he wasn’t. The former Christ the King and Georgia Tech star fell out of the rotation. His minutes dried up.
Alvarado didn’t pout. He stayed ready.
“I’m good. I’m chilling. I’m ready for my moment. I’m ready for my name to get called, whenever it is,” Alvarado said recently. “Like you said, I started off here high. That was the best way to start. So there’s only one way to go — down. We just stay there mentally. This is my home team. I love the organization, I love the Knicks. So just whenever it’s Jose’s time, whenever that time is, I’m ready.”
Four years ago, Alvarado was great in the playoffs, frustrating Chris Paul in a first-round series matchup with the Suns.
Two years later, Alvarado’s Pelicans were swept out of the first round by the Thunder and he struggled. He believes this is different.
“Obviously, I’ve been in the playoffs, but never — no disrespect to any other team — one that’s championship caliber,” Alvarado said. “I see what they’re seeing. We can get to that level. We’re really good. We just need to lock in on the details and stay like that. What really is in our way is ourselves. We just got to stay consistent and confident in who we are.”
