Jose Alvarado’s homecoming game in Madison Square Garden two months ago was among the most memorable individual performances of the season for New Orleans. The rookie guard may have topped that performance Sunday in Atlanta, in his return to the city where he starred in college at Georgia Tech. Alvarado came up with a huge driving layup to put New Orleans up four points with 48 seconds left, then helped to ice the win by sinking two clutch free throws at 0:13.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Atlanta bricked two desperate three-point attempts in the waning seconds, with Alvarado fittingly grabbing the defensive rebound on the second carom.