Former Syracuse star Carmelo Anthony continues Christmas Day hot streak

Former Syracuse Orange star Carmelo Anthony suited up for the New York Knicks on Christmas Day yesterday. And while the Knicks lost 119-114 to the Boston Celtics, Anthony still performed reasonably well, scoring 29 points in the contest.

Going into Sunday’s matchup, Melo was the all-time leader in points per game on Christmas Day (minimum of four appearances), with 34.3. That number dipped down to 33.2 after failing to hit 30 points for the first time in his Christmas career (five games). But he did lead his team in scoring for the fifth straight time on Christmas Day just the same, and his hot second half (22 points) to keep the Knicks in it down the stretch.

Melo’s greatest Christmas contribution may have come off the court, however. For those who may not have caught the story, Anthony (along with Garden of Dreams Foundation and Kia) gifted a car to 17-year old fan Jarell Lara before the game. Lara recently wrapped up chemotherapy for a rare form of cancer, Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, and the car was meant to help the family out after the difficult ordeal.

... man, it’s getting awful dusty in here.

Congrats to Jarell on completing chemo recently, and best of luck to him in the remainder of his fight and recovery process. While it’s not going to fix everything, hopefully the new car provided a bright spot for him and his family on Christmas.