![\"Jose](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Jose-Alvarado-2-3.jpg\")
Jose Alvarado celebrates after hitting one of is eight 3-pointers in the Knicks\u2019 blowout win over the 76ers in Philadelphia. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
When Watford didn\u2019t budge, Alvarado exchanged a few words with him, and the two had to be separated. <\/p>\n
Alvarado and 76ers coach Nick Nurse were both given technical fouls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did a hard foul, but I think he did a little extra with the staring,\u201d Alvarado said. \u201cI\u2019m just not gonna go for none of that. It was just in the moment. That\u2019s when I\u2019m at my best, I guess, getting a little active. It worked out in my favor.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
And it sparked the Knicks run that blew the game open and put them firmly in control.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After the incident, the Knicks outscored the 76ers by 15 points before Alvarado checked out in the second quarter to increase their lead from nine to 24 points. <\/p>\n
Alvarado scored nine of those 15 points with a trio of 3-pointers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe ignited us,\u201d coach Mike Brown said, \u201cin a lot of different ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Jose](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Jose-Alvarado-3-1.jpg\")
Jose Alvarado (right) celebrates with Karl-Anthony Towns during the Knicks\u2019 138-89 blowout win over the 76ers on Feb. 11, 2026 in Philadelphia. Getty Images<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t a major fracas, but it was a bit of snarl that the Knicks were missing this year, one of the reasons they acquired Alvarado just ahead of the deadline. <\/p>\n
It was a major contrast to their lack of response when Draymond Green grabbed Karl-Anthony Towns\u2019 leg and dragged him down during the loss to the Warriors on Jan 15.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, though, the Knicks have an enforcer. Even if he\u2019s generously listed at 6 feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brown gives out a defensive player of the game afterward, and the recipient poses with a pair of Timberland boots, among other accessories, to represent a hard-nosed mentality. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
It was fitting that Alvarado, who got the recognition Wednesday, was already wearing his own pair.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what we need,\u201d Josh Hart said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we want from him. Obviously that toughness, ability to help us get organized, ability to knock down shots. And defensively bring energy, bring physicality, get in the passing lanes, those kinds of things. That\u2019s why he\u2019s here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alvarado\u2019s dogged on-ball defending and toughness are what he\u2019s known for. His offensive game is usually much more of a question mark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat\u2019s happening on and off the Garden court\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
But he was their unlikely leading scorer Wednesday, finishing with 26 points, almost all via 3-pointers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Garbage time became Alvarado time, as he began toying with the 76ers during the fourth quarter, using his patented sneak attack to come up with steals while jacking up 3s on the other end. He hit four more 3s in that fourth quarter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His 26 points and five steals were both season highs. He was a team-high plus-35 in just 19 minutes. His eight 3s tied a career high.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had it rolling,\u201d Alvarado said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know I had eight [3s] \u2014 I should\u2019ve made one more so I could break my tie.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the fourth quarter, the plethora of Knicks fans in attendance were chanting \u201cJose, Jose, Jose, Jose\u201d and getting on their feet for every shot. A potentially key Knicks energizer has firmly arrived.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHILADELPHIA \u2014\u00a0The little man stood up for the big man. And it had a big impact.\u00a0 It\u2019s not…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":598539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3768],"tags":[7,11053,327,304,3357,6,1136,191,79974,3810,3806,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-598538","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-knicks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-jose-alvarado","10":"tag-josh-hart","11":"tag-knicks","12":"tag-mike-brown","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-knicks","16":"tag-new-york-knicks-video","17":"tag-newyork","18":"tag-newyorkknicks","19":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116056803486500346","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}