Watch Carmelo Anthony Get a Hug From a Young Fan Mid-Game

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A young boy is escorted off the court after hugging Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at the Smoothie King Center on March 28, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
A young boy is escorted off the court after hugging Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at the Smoothie King Center on March 28, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana.Sean Gardner/Getty Images
By Maria Yagoda / People

Sometimes when you’re overcome with the need to hug someone, you just have to go for it.

That may have been the reasoning of the child who ran down onto the court in the middle of Monday’s Knicks-Pelicans game to hug his idol, Carmelo Anthony. Anthony patted the kid on the head before a ref led him off the court.

As could be expected, Anthony was a little rattled by the mid-game ambush.

“I was shocked. I didn’t really know who was it until I actually looked over and saw that it was a kid … I think it was because he was a little kid, they just let him go,” he told the AP. “Definitely a security issue, though, for sure.
https://streamable.com/4e4r?t=17.4

Ordinarily, people who walk onto the court during a game, at least in New York City, are subject to fines, but we guess the kid got off the hook for being so cute.

This article originally appeared on People.com

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