Knicks star Carmelo Anthony played secret Santa for a Bronx teen who just won a tough battle with cancer — by surprising the boy and his family with a new SUV.
The 6-foot-8 hoopster, with a heart as big as his body, handed 17-year-old Jarell Lara, his mom, Anne, and dad, Fernando, the keys to a Kia Sorento just before the Knicks’ Christmas Day game at Madison Square Garden against the Boston Celtics.
“This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” said Jarell, who attends Manhattan Business Academy high school in Chelsea. “I’m going to go home and rewatch everything from today — and sit in the car.”
Jarell has just finished a brutal 18-month course of chemotherapy, which helped him whip his rare, life-threatening Langerhans cell histiocytosis into remission.
At one point during his cancer battle, Lara met Anthony through the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Anthony then invited the teenager and his family to the game to celebrate his improved health — but the Laras had no idea what was in store for them.
The gift sent Anne, who quit her job as a medical assistant to care for her son, into sobs of joy.
“He came over and told us he had something for us, and we thought it was a T-shirt or an autograph,” Anne said. “And we went back and it was a car. I broke down and started to cry.”
Anthony said he got so choked up by the emotional moment with the Laras it was hard to regain focus for the game.
“To see the expressions on their face and the mom crying. One of the kids wanted to cry, but he held it in. That’s what it’s all about, the Christmas spirit,” he said.
Although Jarell’s illness, which affects his immune system, is in remission, his family has been forced to make sacrifices to care for him. In addition to Anne leaving her job, the family had to move from Washington Heights to a less expensive place in the South Bronx.
The financial toll is evident in their old car, which frequently breaks down. And on a recent trip to buy groceries, the car had so much trouble making it up a hill, the family had to get out and push, an MSG spokeswoman said.
Jarell and his family, including his dad Fernando and his 9-year-old brother Alixander, were having fun watching the pregame warmup when Anthony told them to follow him.
A shy Jarell, who teared up when Anthony showed him the shiny, new car, said he was “super shocked” by Anthony’s generosity.
“I was not expecting that at all,” he said. “When they sent me back [to the garage], I thought it was just to talk or say hi. But it was a car.”
Anthony was touched, too.
“I don’t think you can put that into words,” he said. “To see the expressions on their face and the mom crying.
Kia and MSG’s Garden of Dreams generally give away one car per year to a needy family. This year, Anthony got involved by offering to split the cost of the giveaway three ways, MSG spokeswoman Shakeema Simmons said. The vehicle’s price starts at $25,400.
Sunday’s treat was the third time Anthony and Jarell have met.
After their first meeting, in January, they reconnected on Wednesday at a Target store, where Jarell and his family were treated to a $2,000 holiday shopping spree with 20 other needy families.
Anthony was at the event because it was sponsored in part by the Knicks. It was at the Target cash register that Anthony invited the family to the Christmas game, which the Celtics won, 119-114.
When asked if he will drive the car home, Jarell chuckled. “No, but dad is,” he said. “I have my permit, so I can practice.
“It’s a blessing because so many other people have had it worse than me,” he went on. “But for me to get picked is very nice. Especially for him to go out of his way and get a car for me and my family — just amazing.”
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