Jose Alvarado had to be stretchered off the court from an AmeriCup game Thursday night in a scary moment for himself and the Pelicans.
Alvarado had led Puerto Rico to overtime against Argentina by scoring 25 points (7-of-12 from 3). In that extra time, Alvarado was battling for a rebound, pulled it free and fell to the floor in the process, landing flat on his back and instantly started grabbing at his lower back in pain.
He was down for some time and eventually had to be stretchered off the court back to the locker room. The Pelicans’ guard then posted this on his Instagram story.
Hopefully this does turn out to be nothing serious, the Pelicans have had enough bad injury luck in recent years — including Alvarado last year, he missed more than a month with a strained hamstring — and don’t need their reserve guard and fan favorite out with a back issue.
Argentina went on to beat Puerto Rico to advance to the AmeriCup semifinals against Canada. In the other semifinal, a USA team led by Javonte Smart, Zachary Auguste and Langston Galloway will face Brazil.