His special night was nothing but net.<\/p>\n
A brave Manhattan boy who has \u201ckept smiling\u201d through years of excruciating sickle cell disease had the time of his life at Monday\u2019s Knicks game<\/a> thanks to a charity that partners with Madison Square Garden, his mom told The Post.<\/p>\n Marvell CharlesPierre Jr., 8,\u00a0 who goes by \u201cMJ,\u201d scored a free ticket to Game 3 of the NBA<\/a> Finals Monday as part of the Garden of Dreams program \u2014 and was \u201chyped up\u201d with \u201cjoy,\u201d said\u00a0his mother, Angelina Rosado.<\/p>\n MJ got special early entrance to the Knick\u2019s pre-game warm-up. Angelina Pierre<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing how much crying he\u2019s done and how many hospitals and needles he\u2019s endured, those moments\u00a0of joy at the game were so amazing,\u201d\u00a0 said Rosado, 33, of the Lower East Side. \u201cHe just wants to be a regular kid.\u201d<\/p>\n MJ, a third grader at PS 15, got special early entrance and access to the team\u2019s pre-game warm-up alongside celebrities in the nearly empty arena.<\/p>\n \u201cHe felt like VIP,\u201d Rosado said, adding he was\u00a0 also given a hip, royal blue Knicks hat.<\/p>\n MJ \u2014 who has spent days-long stints in emergency rooms since first being diagnosed with the painful blood disease at 1 month old\u00a0 \u2014 was swept away by the excited energy of the crowd as the Knicks took on the Spurs, ultimately losing by just four points.<\/p>\n \u201cTo see him jumping up, screaming and cheering \u2014 those were super-happy moments,\u201d said Rosado, who posted a heartwarming montage of the game night on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cHis\u00a0face was lighting up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe was screaming \u2018defense!\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cThe crowd really hyped him up.\u201d<\/p>\n MJ, who is a big Jalen Brunson fan, flashed the player\u2019s signature hand sign. Angelina Pierre<\/p>\n \u201cIt was so dope for me as a mom to see that,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n