Madison Square Garden was as star-packed as a movie premiere Tuesday night, as a high-wattage crowd came out to watch "The King" hold court - which could one day be a regular occurrence.
Moguls and models, rappers and starlets filled the seats to gape at young Basketball legend LeBron James, whose Cleveland Cavaliers delivered a 119-101 drubbing to the Knicks. The cavalcade of celebrities hoped that it was just a taste of the future - and that the perennially woeful Knicks will land James when he hits the open market as a free agent in 2010.
Among the crowd was the one fan who could snuff out the dreams of Knick backers - Jay-Z, the part-owner of the New Jersey Nets, which might also woo James.
The rap mogul - who sat courtside with his wife, singer Beyonc? Knowles - delighted as he watched James, 23, score 26 points on the Knicks.
Even diehard Knick fan Spike Lee couldn't help but jump on the Cleveland player's bandwagon.
The "He Got Game" director was spotted wearing red "Big Apple" sneakers -the brand James was debuting at the Knick game - ESPN reported. Knick guard Nate Robinson came off the bench and started stepping on the shoes.
Lee shouted, "Stop! He's going to be your teammate," ESPN said.
