Knicks Night

As a belated birthday gift of sorts, my friend Nomsa took me to watch the Knicks take on the Dallas Mavericks at Madison Square Garden. I know, me the uninformed non-sports-junkie, of all people! But the thing about a basketball game is it’s so entertaining. There is also a lot of celeb-spotting to be done, and cute boys to eye out while at the game!

We were lucky enough to sit in on the pre-gam practice, court-side, close enough to hear the rubber of the players’ sneakers squeak across the floor, as they warmed up by running up and down, shooting hoops.

As for the celeb-spotting, we first saw director and producer Spike Lee, dressed head to toe in orange and blue, carrying a Barnes&Noble packet (see, they really are just normal people) at the practice. He jumped up and down a lot during the game and it was all the more entertaining watching his reactions.

Actor John Larroquette was also there. He’s about to star in a Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying with Daniel Radcliffe. Comedian Chris Rock was also in the front row, seated a few spots away from Lee and Justin Bieber, who’s in town for the premiere of his 3D movie, Never Say Never. During half-time, Lee went over to say hi, and Rock took his young daughter to go over and meet the Bieber too.

Clearly I left my telescopic lens at home!

Oh, as for the game itself, the two teams were neck-and-neck on each other in the first half, but then towards the end, the Mavericks were just on fire and won by about 12 points. By this time, the Bieber had already made a quick getaway. So too had Rock. But Lee was left sitting with a rather disappointed look about him.