NBA FINALS: Jose Alvarado Knicks’ game-changer in historic Game 4 comeback win – amNewYork

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NEW YORK — Head coach Mike Brown was so enamored with the spark that guard Jose Alvarado provided off the bench during the Knicks’ historic 29-point comeback to defeat the Spurs 107-106 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals that he literally applauded him during his postgame press conference early Thursday morning within the bowels of Madison Square Garden.
“Jose was unbelievable tonight,” Brown said, while actor Ben Stiller hooted and hollered from the opposite corner of the room. “He changed the game. His speed, his ability to test the paint. Again, you give San Antonio a lot of credit. They’re trying to throw a lot of different things at us defensively… and if you don’t close out Jose, as hard as he works on his shot, he’ll make you pay. If you close out on him, he’s quick enough to go by you, and he made some great basketball plays offensively tonight.”
In just 16 minutes, Alvarado posted eight points, three assists, and a pair of rebounds, doing most of his damage in the fourth quarter when the Knicks were trailing by 20, 95-75, with 9:33 to go. 
Seventeen seconds later, Alvarado drained a three-pointer to start the comeback and then capped an 8-0 run by providing the assist for Karl-Anthony Towns’ corner three-pointer as the shot clock expired with 7:28 to go.
He had the helper on OG Anunoby’s triple with 4:34 remaining to make it a four-point game, 99-95, then a minute later, scored five straight points for the Knicks — a finger roll and a three-pointer — to keep the Knicks within four with 3:07 left.
The Brooklyn native who starred at Christ the King in Queens was the ultimate counter to San Antonio’s physical defense down the stretch. He could match that tenacity on both ends of the floor, has the speed to stretch the floor, and the confidence to drain shots when called upon. He went 3-for-3 in his nine-plus fourth-quarter minutes. 
“I think he did a great job of coming in and changing the game,” Knicks captain and star guard Jalen Brunson said. “I’ve always said this: The work ethic these guys have in the locker room allows them to be prepared whenever their number’s called. And the way he came in and changed the game and did the things that he did was great, and he did literally everything.”
Alvarado has played big minutes throughout these NBA Finals, specifically in Game 2, when he spearheaded the Knicks’ bench unit to help build a lead as large as nine during their run between the third and fourth quarters. But his inclusion in the final stanza on Wednesday night came out of necessity. New York was desperate to find the consistent offensive flow that eluded them throughout the first 38 minutes of Game 4.
“Just [wanted] to mix it up,” Brown said. “Jose’s been good in the pick and roll. Jose’s been good at touching the paint, and if Jalen wanted to get off the ball for a few possessions, Jose could handle it, touch the paint, and make the game easier for others. If Jalen was on the ball, the ball got sprayed, and it found Jose. Jose could then touch the apint with his speed. That’s all I was trying to do was see if we could touch the paint a little bit more while the floor was spaced the right way. See if we can get some easy looks, especially from the three-point line, while trying to play faster.”
It worked. The Knicks got their first lead of the night wth 1:22 left in regulation and ultimately pulled it out with 1.2 ticks to go thanks to Anunoby’s miracle tip-in. But the collective understood that this NBA Finals turnaround record might not have happened without the man they call Grand Theft Alvarado.
“When you talk about somebody who not only lives up to the moment but plays with his emotion and utilizes that to his advantage, that’s a rare quality,” Towns said. “You play with a lot of people, and they play with emotion, but it gets the better of them. But with Jose, that emotion is what drives him and makes him take it to another level. He’s a special player. His tenacity, his defensive ability, and his offensive ability… It’s special.
“He has so much to his basketball game that they don’t give credit to. I’m glad at this stage on a night like this, he was able to show the world what he could do when he’s given the chance, and Jose Alvarado clearly told everyone in the world tonight he’s a big player.”
Life looks remarkably different for the 28-year-old compared to just four months ago, when he was coming off the bench for a New Orleans Pelicans team that finished in 11th place in the Western Conference this year. Now, he is one win away from winning an NBA championship for his hometown team.
“Just to be a part of this journey is amazing,” Alvarado said. “This is what I worked hard for: to be in moments like this and shine with it. So I’m glad it went our way today, and I’ll definitely remember this for the rest of my life.”
Joe Pantorno has been the executive sports editor of amNewYork since 2020. He covers the New York Mets and is a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). He is also a member of the Pro Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) and has covered the New York Islanders for nearly a decade. His previous stops include Bleacher Report and Metro New York, while his work has been featured in the New York Post, Newsday, and Yahoo! Sports.
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