Jose Alvarado was up to his usual tricks when the New Orleans Pelicans took on the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night. Alvarado used his signature steal move on LeBron James, as he snuck behind him and got the ball from him on two separate occasions.
NBA fans reacted to the viral moment.
One said Alvarado has the most entertaining steals, “Guy’s got the most entertaining steals in NBA history.”
A fan loves Alvarado’s nickname, “Grand Theft Alvarado gotta be a top 10 nickname.”
LeBron is getting old, as per one fan, “Bron is getting old.”
One says Alvarado is legendary for doing it twice to LeBron, “He’s legendary for doing this to the King twice.”
One wonders why none of LeBron’s teammates told him Alvarado was coming, “Can’t nobody point or shout to Bron?”
You could actually see Taurean Prince noticing Alvarado in the second clip, but he failed to stop him from getting to LeBron. The Puerto Rican doesn’t do it on every play in the game, which is why he ends up being so successful with this sneak attack of his.
Alvarado has done it to so many players, including the likes of Chris Paul, but this would have been just a bit more special. To catch LeBron slacking once is one thing, but to do it twice is impressive. The Pelicans will next face the Lakers on February 9, and I’d say LeBron is going to be extra careful during that meeting.
Zion Williamson Says Jose Alvarado Changes The Game With His Signature Steal
Alvarado stealing the ball from LeBron was a big talking point after the game as well. When Zion Williamson was asked about it during his postgame interview, he stated those plays change the game.
“Man, that’s big time,” Williamson said. “Especially if you know Jose, so when he does stuff like that, man it changes the game… Bron could have came down and just hit a pull-up three, but Jose gets the steal, leads to a three for us and I mean stuff like that is huge for momentum in games. So, that was big time.”
"When he does stuff like that, it changes the game."
– Zion Williamson on the effect of Jose Alvarado's signature steal 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Sy7SO1hWOj
— NBA (@NBA) January 1, 2024
On the first occasion, the Lakers potentially had a chance to cut the Pelicans’ lead to single digits, but Alvarado’s steal eventually led to a three-pointer which pushed it to 15. Then on the second occasion, the Lakers had a chance to trim the deficit to 10, but just seconds later, they were down 16.
Those plays not only give the team and the crowd a big lift but also deflate the opposition. Alvarado ended up with a game-high 4 steals here, to go with 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks.
The Pelicans Blew Out The Lakers
While Alvarado stole the show with the steals, this was a total team effort from New Orleans. The Pelicans crushed the Lakers 129-109 here to avenge their humiliating loss in the In-Season Tournament semifinal.
Williamson led the way with 26 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists on 8-12 shooting in just 32 minutes of action. The Pelicans jumped on the Lakers early and led 42-33 after the first quarter. They then managed to keep L.A. at arm’s length the rest of the way to improve to 19-14 in this 2023-24 season.
As for the Lakers, this loss dropped them to 17-17, and they have now gone 2-7 in their last nine games. LeBron, who had 34 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 block in this one, continues to play at a high level, but wins are hard to come by at the moment.
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