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PHILADELPHIA — The little man stood up for the big man. And it had a big impact.

It's not a sight that has been common around these Knicks this year — someone actually getting in an opponent's face to stick up for a teammate.

Mitchell Robinson, while going up for a dunk, was brought down hard by Trendon Watford at the end of the first quarter of theKnicks' 138-89 win over the 76erson Wednesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Immediately, with Robinson still on the ground, Alvarado tried to push Watford away.

When Watford didn't budge, Alvarado exchanged a few words with him, and the two had to be separated.

Alvarado and 76ers coach Nick Nurse were both given technical fouls.

"He did a hard foul, but I think he did a little extra with the staring," Alvarado said. "I'm just not gonna go for none of that. It was just in the moment. That's when I'm at my best, I guess, getting a little active. It worked out in my favor."

And it sparked the Knicks run that blew the game open and put them firmly in control.

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.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND KNICKS STATS

Alvarado scored nine of those 15 points with a trio of 3-pointers.

"He ignited us," coach Mike Brown said, "in a lot of different ways.

It wasn't 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.

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It was a major contrast to their lack of response when Draymond Green grabbed Karl-Anthony Towns' leg and dragged him down during the loss to the Warriors on Jan 15.

Now, though, the Knicks have an enforcer. Even if he's generously listed at 6 feet.

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.

It was fitting that Alvarado, who got the recognition Wednesday, was already wearing his own pair.

"That's what we need," Josh Hart said. "That's 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's why he's here."

Alvarado's dogged on-ball defending and toughness are what he's known for. His offensive game is usually much more of a question mark.

But he was their unlikely leading scorer Wednesday, finishing with 26 points, almost all via 3-pointers.

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.

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.

"I had it rolling," Alvarado said. "I didn't know I had eight [3s] — I should've made one more so I could break my tie."

By the fourth quarter, the plethora of Knicks fans in attendance were chanting "Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose" and getting on their feet for every shot. A potentially key Knicks energizer has firmly arrived.

Helen Garay Facebook

NEED TO KNOW

• The cause of death for a woman who was found dead inside a freezer at a Dollar Tree in Miami has been revealed

• Helen Massiell Garay Sanchez, a 32-year-old mother of two, was found dead inside a freezer at the discount store on Dec. 14, 2025

• Authorities previously said Sanchez climbed inside the freezer the night prior and was there overnight, before being found by employee at around 8:00 a.m.
  

The cause of death for a mother of two found dead inside a freezer at a Dollar Tree in Miami has released.

Helen Massiell Garay Sanchez, 32, was found dead inside a freezer at the discount store on SW 8th Street on Dec. 14, 2025,PEOPLE previouslyreported.

On Wednesday, Feb. 11, Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Sanchez's cause of death as environmental hypothermia, with ethanol use being a contributory cause, according to local media outletsNBC6,WPLGand theMiami Herald.

Sanchez's ethanol levels were found to be at 0.112% in her toxicology report, per NBC6. A reading of ocular fluid ethanol was also at 0.156%, according to WPLG.

Ethanol is used in alcoholic beverages. A blood ethanol level of 0.112% is also above the legal limit to drive, per the outlet.

Hypothermia occurs when the body's core temperature drops below 95 degrees. "Left untreated, hypothermia can cause the heart and respiratory system to fail and eventually can lead to death," according to theMayo Clinic.

PEOPLE has contacted the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office for comment

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Authorities previously said Sanchez entered the Dollar Tree without buying anything on Dec. 13, according toNBC 6andWPLG.

She then reportedly went to an employee-only area and stayed inside the freezer overnight.

Sanchez was found deceased in the freezer by an employee at around 8:00 a.m. the following morning, PEOPLE previously reported.

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In January, Sanchez's familyfiled a wrongful death lawsuitin Miami-Dade County against Dollar Tree and the location's manager, perNBC 6.

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Sanchez's family, who are suing the chain and store's manager for over $50 million, claimed Dollar Tree was negligent in not preventing Sanchez from accessing the store's freezer.

They also claimed that the manager was "placed on actual notice" that Sanchez was missing and hadn't exited the store and that the manager "failed to take reasonable action to locate or assist Sanchez," per NBC 6.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Sanchez's husband and two children.

A  police spokesperson previously told PEOPLE that they obtained footage from a family member and from the store.

"This is why we know there was no foul play," the spokesperson said. "She went into the freezer on her own."

A police officer who spoke toWPLGalso previously ruled out mental illness as a factor in her death.

In a statement, a Dollar Tree spokesperson previously told PEOPLE that the company was "cooperating fully with the authorities at this time." "We are aware of this tragic incident, and our thoughts are with the individual's family and loved ones," they added.

A company spokesperson also added in a statement shared with PEOPLE on Feb. 2, "Our thoughts continue to be with the individual's family and loved ones. While we do not comment on active legal matters, we continue to cooperate fully with authorities."

Sanchez, who was from Nicaragua, worked as a doctor and was "dedicated her life to medicine," according to aGoFundMepage.

Read the original article onPeople

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Russia is yet to respond to a U.S.-backed energy truce, as the two combatants continue to exchange long-range drone and missile strikes amid American-led peace talks.

Recent trilateral U.S.-Ukraine-Russia talks in the United Arab Emirates were described by all sides as constructive, though appear to have failed to find a breakthrough on several contentious points or secure a new truce covering critical energy infrastructure.

After the most recent round of talks last week, Zelenskyy said that U.S. officials proposed a temporary pause in attacks on energy targets, which would have mirrored the brief pause on such attacks that occurred at the end of January.

Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Kyiv is yet to receive a response from Moscow on the purported offer. "On the contrary, we've received a response in the form of drone and missile attacks. This suggests that they are not yet ready for the energy ceasefire proposed in Abu Dhabi by the American side," he said.

Russian drone strikes undermining 'all diplomatic efforts,' Zelenskyy says

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 25 missiles and 219 drones into the country overnight, of which 16 missiles and 197 drones were shot down or suppressed.

The impacts of nine missiles and 19 drones were reported across 13 locations, the air force said. "The main targets are Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odesa," the air force wrote on Telegram.

Four people, including two children, were also injured in strikes on the central city of Dnipro, Ukraine's Interior Ministry said. An earlier strike on the Synelnykove city just outside of Dnipro killed four people and injured three others, the regional administration said in posts to Telegram.

The Interior Ministry said that at least 13 people were injured in a series of drone strikes in the city of Barvinkove in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

The regional military administration in Odesa said one person was also injured there by Russian strikes.

Russian border regions face blackouts after Ukrainian strikes, governors say

The Interior Ministry reported damage to several areas of the capital. At least two people were injured by the attacks on Kyiv, according to the head of the city's military administration, Tymur Tkachenko.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that almost 2,600 residential buildings were left without heating due to "damage to critical infrastructure targeted by the enemy."

In total, approximately more than 1 million people without heating in the Ukrainian capital, according to Klitschko and Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba.

DTEK -- Ukraine's top private energy firm -- reported major damage to its energy infrastructure in Odesa, plus an attack on a thermal power plant.

Ukrenergo, the state energy transmission operator, reported power outages in Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the attacks as "Russian terror" in a post to X. "Each such strike is a blow to peace efforts aimed at ending the war. Russia must be forced to take diplomacy seriously and deescalate," he said.

Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram, "There needs to be more protection against these attacks."

Russian strikes kill 3 in Ukraine as Zelenskyy calls for Western air defense aid

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"The most effective defense against Russian ballistic missiles is the 'Patriot' system, and the supply of missiles for these systems is needed every day," he added, referring to the U.S.-made surface-to-air missile platform.

"Everything currently available in the air defense program should arrive faster," he said.

Ukraine continued its own drone strike campaign overnight. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 106 Ukrainian drones overnight into Thursday morning.

Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported that two people were killed in drone attacks. At least 15 other people were injured across the region by Ukrainian attacks, the governor said. Gladkov also said Ukrainian forces fired several missiles into the region.

Local officials in the Volgograd, Tambov and Voronezh reported damage to industrial sites and falling drone debris in or close to residential areas.

'Normal life has disappeared': Russia's energy offensive plunges Ukraine into dark and bitter cold

Russia's federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, reported temporary flight restrictions for airports in Kaluga, Volgograd, Saratov, Yaroslavl, Kotlas, Ukhta, Perm and Kirov.

Ukraine's General Staff said in a statement posted to social media that among the targets of the strikes were the main arsenal of Russia's missile and artillery forces in the Volgograd region. "This arsenal is one of the largest ammunition storage sites of the Russian army," the General Staff said.

The ongoing peace talks have seen no easing of long-range strikes by either side, as the fourth anniversary of Moscow's February 2022 full-scale invasion approaches.

As yet, no next round of talks have been scheduled. Zelenskyy said the U.S. had proposed a new trilateral meeting to be held in Miami, but that, "So far, as I understand it, Russia is hesitating."

"We are ready. It doesn't matter to us whether the meeting will be in Miami or Abu Dhabi. The main thing is that there should be a result," the Ukrainian president said.

Trump-Putin Alaska summit looms large in Kremlin's Ukraine negotiating strategy

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday that Moscow had "a certain understanding" regarding the next round of talks. "We expect the next round to take place soon. We'll also give you directions on the location," he added, as quoted by the state-run Tass news agency.

Russian Foreign Ministry officials have this week been critical of the ongoing peace push.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week suggested that the U.S. side had drifted from the understandings reached between Moscow and Washington at the August meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Lavrov also said Trump's administration had failed to roll back former President Joe Biden-era sanctions against Moscow.

Lavrov and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova framed the lack of progress as the fault of Kyiv and its European backers.

Russia downs 4,300 Ukrainian drones in December, setting new record, Moscow claims

"At the current stage, it is the European Union that is preventing the Kyiv regime from making any compromises in exchange for promises to provide everything necessary to continue military operations," Zakharova said in a briefing on Thursday, as quoted by Tass.

ABC News'Oleksiy Pshemyskyiand Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.

Nicolás Madurois still the legitimate leader ofVenezuela, the country's acting president said in an exclusive interview with NBC News.

"I can tell you President Nicolás Maduro is the legitimate president. I will tell you this as a lawyer, that I am. Both President Maduro and Cilia Flores, the first lady, are both innocent,"acting President Delcy Rodrígueztold NBC News' "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welkerin Caracas, in her first interview with an American journalist since taking office.

As her predecessor sits in a federal detention facility in New York after being captured by U.S. forces last month, Rodríguez is now seemingly being welcomed back into the diplomatic fold by PresidentDonald Trump.

A high-profile visit Wednesday by Energy Secretary Chris Wright came as the two countries hammered out details of how Venezuela's vast oil reserves are to be distributed.

Watch more on 'Meet The Press NOW' at 4 p.m. ET, 'NBC Nightly News With Tom Llamas' at 6:30 p.m. ET and onNBCNews.com

She added, "I can tell you I am in charge of the presidency of Venezuela, as it's stated clearly in the constitution of Venezuela. And from the amount of work that I have, from how busy I am, I can tell you it's very, very hard work and we're doing it completely day by day."

The daughter of a revolutionary andsanctioned by the first Trump administration,Rodríguez'spath to power has not been conventional.

In the days following Maduro's capture Jan. 3,Rodríguezwas highly critical of the U.S. military action against him. She has since softened her tone and relented to U.S. pressure and demands, raising the possibility of a visit to the United States after two phone calls with Trump.

"I have been invited to the States," Rodríguez told NBC News, adding that "we're contemplating coming there once we establish this cooperation and we can move forward with everything."

Wright told Welker that cooperation with the Venezuelan government had been "amazing" and got off to a "tremendous start."

"She's delivered information. Everything we know so far has turned out to be true. She's made enormous positive changes, including already changing the hydrocarbon law in the country in the first few weeks," he said during an interview Wednesday. "So I would say that cooperation is off to a tremendous start."

There has been more than $1 billion in Venezuelan oil sold and another $5 billion in oil sales are expected in the coming months, Wright told NBC News.

"So the Venezuelans are in charge here in Venezuela, but the United States has enormous leverage over the interim authorities in Venezuela — the largest revenue source that funds the government, that funds the government of Venezuela is now controlled by the United States," Wright said.

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"If they're driving positive change that benefits Americans and is improving the life opportunities of people in Venezuela, that money will flow. If they steer off that path, we have just simply tremendous leverage."

Still, the current government has not entirely shed the authoritarian ways of Maduro or his predecessor, the late President Hugo Chávez, who largely established the infrastructure of the current security state in Venezuela.

Dozens ofpolitical prisoners have been releasedin recent weeks and political space within the country has opened up to the point where a protest demanding the release of more prisoners was held last week in front of the country's highest court, an act that only months ago could have resulted in arrest, jail time or worse.

But despite promises by Rodriguez's government that detained opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists would be released, more than 640 are still being held, according to leading Venezuelan rights group Foro Penal.

And even after being let go, former prisoners are often not truly free. Among those is Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close ally of Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, whowas rearrestedand is under house arrest, according toa post on Xby his son.

Saying that the country was proceeding with an "amnesty plan" put in place before Maduro was seized and she became acting president, Rodriguez implied that some of those considered political prisoners had been behind violence in the country.

"Between 2014 and 2017, we experienced great, great violence in the streets of Venezuela," she said, adding that the government was in the midst of a "deep evaluation of the judicial system."

Violence has accompanied some elections in Venezuela, with the lead-up to theJuly 28, 2024, vote seeing widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations. Protests after the election, which Maduro is widely believed to have lost to a coalition headed by Machado, descended into violence.

Asked whether Venezuela would hold "free and fair" elections, Rodriguez said, "Absolutely."

"To hold free and just elections in Venezuela, it means also having a country free and where justice can be practiced," she added. "Free from sanctions."

It was also not clear when, or even if, Machado, Venezuela's most prominent opposition activist, could safely return to the country.

Despitegifting her Nobel Peace Prize medalto Trump during a White House visit last month, Machado has yet to be fully embraced by the president as a serious political contender in Venezuela.

"With regards to her life, we do not understand why there's such a fuss about it," Rodríguez told NBC News. "With regards to her coming back to the country, she will have to answer to Venezuela. Why she called upon a military intervention, why she called upon sanctions to Venezuela, and why she celebrated the actions that took place at the beginning of January."

The nation's lone remaining unbeaten team looks to raise its winning streak to 25 when No. 23 Miami (Ohio) plays host to its archrival Ohio in Mid-American Conference play Friday night in Oxford.

Both schools took a break from conference action to play in the MAC-Sun Belt Conference Challenge over the weekend.

Miami (24-0, 11-0 MAC) held off a rally from Marshall to post a 90-74 road win Saturday, while Ohio (13-12, 7-5) traveled to Norfolk, Va., on Saturday and dropped a 78-72 decision to Old Dominion.

When No. 1 Arizona fell at Kansas on Monday night, the RedHawks were left as the only unbeaten team in Division I men's basketball. In addition to being the only team without a loss, Miami has the nation's longest active winning streak at 24, with No. 18 Saint Louis second at 17 straight.

Miami already has set Mid-American Conference records for the best start and the longest winning streak, breaking the 21-game streak recorded by Kent State in the 2001-02 season. The RedHawks have the longest win streak to start a season since Gonzaga won its first 31 games before losing in the 2021 national championship game.

On Saturday at Marshall, the RedHawks built a 24-point first-half lead before watching the Thundering Herd cut it to nine twice in the second half. But Marshall could get no closer as Miami pulled away late for the wire-to-wire victory.

"That's been our group all year. We're totally unflappable," Miami coach Travis Steele said. "Calm, cool, collected, confident. We just started executing a little bit better on offense and defense and were able to stretch it out again."

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Miami has improved its defense over the last four games since escaping back-to-back overtime games in which the opponent scored over a 100 points in each contest.

"We score a lot of different ways and have a clear identity on the offensive end, but you've got to have an identity on defense, too," Steele said. "I think our defensive identity is definitely coming to life the last couple games."

Since starting point guard Evan Ipsaro was lost 12 games into the season due to a torn ACL, Miami has compensated with a balanced scoring attack. Brant Byers (14.8 ppg) and Peter Suder (14.2) have picked up the scoring slack while Antwone Woolfolk has been a force in the paint, averaging 10.4 points and 5.5 rebounds a contest.

In the win over Marshall, Eian Elmer led the way with 18 points, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range. The game marked the 18th time this season Miami shot 50% or better from the field, knocking down 33 of 59 shots.

Ohio shot 46.6% from the field (27 of 58) but was just 8 of 25 from beyond the arc and 10 of 15 from the line in the disappointing loss at Old Dominion. Leading scorer Jackson Paveletzke was held to just seven points, but he still leads the Bobcats in scoring at 16.6 points per game.

Aidan Hadaway is averaging 14.2 points a contest while Javan Simmons is the other player in double figures at 14 points per game, a figure he reached in the loss at the Monarchs.

"We've done well in spurts in our losses and, obviously, it's not good enough to win a game and it's about putting it together, you know, playing that complete 40 minutes," Ohio coach Jeff Boals said on Feb. 3. "Just a mindset of continuing to get better, coming in and preparing the right way."

--Field Level Media

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2026 is coming into focus,with a list of 21 finalists announced Wednesday.

It's a diverse group of recent NBA and WNBA stars, top coaches, older names and other contributors. The headliners include Blake Griffin, Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne, Mike D'Antoni and Kelvin Sampson,all of whom are first-time nominees.

Doc Rivers and Amar'e Stoudemire are among the bigger names getting a second look for induction. The lone referee nominated is the long-controversial Joey Crawford, while the team in the running is the 1996 U.S. women's national team, whose Olympic dominance helped launch the WNBA the following year.

One of those 1996 players, Jennifer Azzi, is also up for individual induction.

The finalists will have their fate decided by the Hall's 24-member Honors Committee. The new class will be announced on April 4 during Final Four weekend.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 finalists

Players

• Jennifer Azzi

• Molly Bolin-Kazmer

• Tal Brody

• Elena Delle Donne*

• Blake Griffin*

• Chaminique Holdsclaw

• Kevin Johnson

• Marques Johnson

• Candace Parker*

• Amar'e Stoudemire

• Buck Williams

Coaches

• Mike D'Antoni*

• Mark Few

• Dušan Ivković

• Gary McKnight

• Dick Motta

• Doc Rivers

• Kelvin Sampson*

• Jerry Welsh

Referees

• Joey Crawford

Teams

• 1996 United States Women's National Team*

* denotes a first-time nominee

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Busch won the pole for NASCAR's season-opening Daytona 500 to give the driver with the longest active losing streak in "The Great American Race" a shot at the victory that has escaped him his entire career.

NASCAR Daytona 500 Auto Race

Busch is 0 for 20 in the Daytona 500 and hasn't started in the top five since 2016, when he still drove for Joe Gibbs Racing. He started fourth and finished third that year, then was a career-best second to then-teammate Denny Hamlin in 2019.

"Kyle, we've got to get him this 500," said team owner Richard Childress.

No driver has ever won their first Daytona 500 after 20 previous attempts. The late Dale Earnhardt won for Childress in his 20th start in 1998 — three years before Earnhardt was killed in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 race.

"Sounds really good right now — being able to qualify on my first pole for the Daytona 500, that's pretty special," said Busch, who wore custom-designed Olympic-themed racing shoes at Daytona International Speedway.

He earned the pole Wednesday night with a lap at 183.925 mph in a Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, the team that signed him before the 2023 season when his contract was up with Gibbs and his salary was too high for most teams.

But his time in the No. 8 has been rocky for the two-time NASCAR champion. He's won three races since joining RCR — all in his first season — and takes a 93-race losing streak into the Daytona 500.

Busch starts the year with new crew chief Jim Pohlman, who led Justin Allgaier to the 2024 championship in NASCAR's second-tier series.

The pole runs continues a strong few weeks for Busch and his family: Older brother, Kurt, was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame last month.

"Feels really good for RCR as a group," Busch said. "Just a valiant effort by everybody here. It would be really nice to be doing an interview like this about being No. 1 come Sunday night."

RCR last put a car on the pole for the Daytona 500 in 2014 when Austin Dillon, grandson of the team owner, qualified first. Dillon won the race in 2018.

Chase Briscoe, last year's pole-sitter, qualified second in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

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"It's a really big deal, not only for myself, but I haven't even checked my phone, I'm sure (Bass Pro Shops owner) Johnny Morris is ballistic already," Briscoe said of his sponsor. "He gets super fired up for this race. He's called me two or three times this week telling me he's so excited to get here and asking me how the car is. It's a big deal for him, as well. It should be awesome to be on the front row again Sunday."

Although 37 drivers were locked into the race ahead of time trials, the starting order is not determined until after a pair of Thursday night qualifying races. Of those locked in, 36 drive chartered cars that guarantee a spot in every race. An additional slot went to seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson under a provisional rule that allows for a 41st "world-class driver" trying to enter a Cup event.

Johnson is a two-time Daytona 500 winner and finished third last year. He left full-time NASCAR racing after the 2020 season.

There were two spots open for those not already locked in and they were claimed by Corey Heim for 23XI Racing and Justin Allgaier for JR Motorsports. They were the fastest cars in time trials.

Heim, last year's Truck Series champion, will be making his Daytona 500 debut.

"Kind of nerve-wracking for sure," said the 23-year-old from Georgia. "So impressed and thank you for 23XI Racing and Toyota, coming here with an open car and a fourth team at 23XI, to be able to do that is pretty impressive even from my eyes. I feel like that's a very big accomplishment from those guys. Just blessed to be a part of the team."

Allgaier is in for the fourth time in his career and the second consecutive year while driving for two-time race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"It's such a great sport to be part of it and it's awesome to be able to come down here and try to make your way in," Earnhardt said. "It is stressful, but that's the best part about it."

There are two remaining open spots in the field that will be decided Thursday night via a pair of 150-mile qualifying races. The highest finisher in each race among the drivers not qualified will earn a berth in the Daytona 500.

Those still trying to get in the race are: Anthony Alfredo, Corey LaJoie, BJ McLeod, Casey Mears, Chandler Smith and J.J. Yeley. Only two will race Sunday.

AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing