Jose Alvarado had Chris Paul on his list, and one teammate told him it was a name he'd never scratch off. But he proved that wrong Sunday night at the Smoothie King Center.
That list was of the players again whom the rookie wanted to pull off his now-signature sneaky steal. It typically comes after a made basket, and sees Alvarado lurking along the baseline before darting out to poke the ball away from an unsuspecting ball-handler.
It was move that was waved off with disdain by Paul during the Pelicans' Game 2 victory. But late in the 4th quarter Sunday and coming off a missed shot, Alvarado got his mark amid a feisty defensive effort and 118-113 Pelicans win to even the series 2-2.
"Can’t wave me off of that one," Alvarado said with a grin. "I got him."
The teammate who told him it'd never happen? That was CJ McCollum, who admitted his faults, looked at his teammate and said: "You got him, congrats."
"He’s picking up full court. He’s changing the game, playing with energy and that’s we need from him," McCollum said. "We need him to be aggressive, we need him to be fearless and continue to attack.”
But the sneak-steal simply punctuated what was an overall dominant defensive effort against the NBA's best team and a Hall-of-fame caliber guard, who dished out 11 assists but turned the ball over three times and scored just 4 points on 2-of-8 shooting. The frustration set in for Paul in the second half as he was called for a flagrant foul on Pelicans rookie Herb Jones after a steal, and later a technical foul.
"[Jose] just got in the game," head coach Willie Green said, "and kinda tore the game up."
At one point in the fourth quarter, Alvarado dogged Paul in the backcourt so aggressively he nearly picked up a straight steal, which turned into an 8-second violation and a turnover. Alvarado roared on the court, and the capacity crowd in New Orleans roared right back.
“He’s one of the best guards out there, right? It’s all love. No disrespect. I’m gonna be there,"' Alvarado said. "I ain't running away from no smoke. It’s all about basketball. Nothing personal."
The second-half defense of the Pelicans' group of "wait, those are rookies" players has become a calling card of the team as its made a dogged push into the postseason and even in a series with the top seed that was supposed to roll right past them. Jones has been doing it all season, and was all over the court, blocking three 3-point attempts in the game, a rarity for any game but even rarer in the postseason.
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Again, it was McCollum who summed it up best: "He'll be first-team all defense as soon as they start watching Pelicans games"
Jones' open-court steal and finish through Paul's flagrant foul was likely the nail that closed the Suns' coffin in Game 4. Brandon Ingram had a game-high 30 points, but none came in the final quarter. McCollum spent several minutes on the bench down the stretch, and the Pelicans simply extended the lead in what turned into a runaway win.
The crowd let Jae Crowder have it with less-than-friendly chants. Alvarado gave it to him on the court. At one point, Jones sat on the baseline as Paul reached out a hand to help him up. The offer was ignored. That's the mentality this group played with all night, and it's what they'll hope to bring with them to Phoenix for a Game 5 that will set up a massive showdown back in New Orleans for Game 6, one way or the other.
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It's a gift for the fans, and one for the players to know they'll be coming back home for at least one more game. When the buzzer blared at the finish, a graphic flashed up that said Game 6 was already sold out. That was fast. It'll also be loud, and it hasn't gone unnoticed by the players, or the first-year head coach who's quickly becoming a star in his role.
"I love New Orleans. I love the people here. That was amazing. That Jose chant. There was all kinds of stuff going on. It was hard for me to focus on exactly what they were saying, but I know they’re rooting for us," Green said. "They’re behind us. And that’s a team that hopefully our city, our community can be proud to work for.”