OK, the Knicks put it all out on the court Friday night.

Strike that. What I meant to say is that they put it all out on the courtside seats.

They packed the house with the best talent New York has to offer: The Yankees ' CC Sabathia , Joba Chamberlain and Alex Rodriguez . . . The Giants ' Justin Tuck and Antonio Pierce . . . Rappers Jay-Z and Grand Master Flash. And there was this very pretty blonde woman named Paige Butcher who I am told is a covergirl for Maxim magazine .

Friday night, for the first time in recent memory at Madison Square Garden, celebrity row was stocked with actual celebrities.

They say you've got to shake what your mama gave you, and that's exactly what the team did in LeBron James ' only visit to the Garden this season. The Knicks know they aren't going to lure the best player in the NBA to New York with the actual basketball product they're putting on the floor. Instead, they threw him a New York-style Garden party the likes of which hasn't been seen on a regular basis since the days of Charles Oakley and Larry Johnson , both of whom also were sitting courtside.