Royal visit brings buzz to Barclays
— -- NEW YORK -- Prince William and Kate's royal visit brought an NBA Finals-like buzz to the Cleveland Cavaliers- Brooklyn Nets game Monday night.
And there was a moment that captivated the entire Barclays Center when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met and exchanged pleasantries with music's royal couple -- Jay Z and Beyonce -- on the court before the start of the fourth quarter.
The meeting was shown on the big screen during the entire break between quarters, and everything felt like it came to a standstill at Barclays.
"It felt like the Finals, to be honest," Nets forward Kevin Garnett said after the Cavaliers won 110-88. "There was a lot of energy in the building, a lot of press, a lot of people in the building and a lot of things going on."
William and Kate's first visit to New York included an opportunity to watch LeBron James and the Cavaliers. About 200 media credentials were distributed, twice the amount normally distributed for a Nets regular-season game, according to the NBA. William and Kate had dinner on a suite level in a board room that included NBA commissioner Adam Silver, NBA executive vice president of social responsibility Kathy Behrens and former NBA star/global ambassador Dikembe Mutombo.
The couple watched the second half of the game with Mutombo and Irina Pavlova -- president of Onexim Sports and Entertainment, which is owned by Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov -- in courtside seats that belong to Barclays majority owner Bruce Ratner.
William and Kate's arrival to their courtside seats across from the Nets' bench created a stir in the middle of the third quarter.
"I saw when everyone stepped up and kind of turned and brought out their phones," said Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, who was shooting free throws when the couple walked to their seats nearby. "I just tried to make the second shot [free throw], but it ended up being about a foot short."
Said Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters: "I wanted to see why everybody started going crazy."
The game was tied at 61-all with 7:14 to go at that point. And unfortunately for the Nets, the royals' presence ignited King James and the Cavaliers. Cleveland went on a 24-6 tear to open an 85-67 lead as James scored nine of his 18 points and recorded five of his seven assists in the quarter.
Shortly after the quarter ended, Nets and Barclays CEO Brett Yormark took Jay Z and Beyonce from their courtside seats and walked them across the court to meet William and Kate. The couples initially planned to meet during halftime, but William and Kate's dinner went longer than expected.
The highly anticipated meet-and-greet was shown on the arena big screen and lasted pretty much the entire break before the fourth quarter, as cellphone camera flashes went off all around the arena.
"I was trying to get in on that because I really wanted to meet Beyonce and Jay Z," Cavaliers coach David Blatt joked. "I haven't done that yet. And I really wanted to talk to the royal couple, as a European. But I missed my chance. Instead coached a good team and a good basketball game, and I'll have to settle for that."
"Well, we got to bring them to every game, then," Blatt added later when asked about the Cavaliers' game-turning run after William and Kate took their seats.
Not long after the game ended, James, still in his warm-ups, met with William and Kate and presented them with cupcakes and two Cavaliers jerseys -- one with "GEORGE" on the back for son Prince George, and another with "CAMBRIDGE" on the back.
"I gave them a present and thanked them for coming here to America to watch our game," James said. "For them to take time out of their schedules and to come out here to watch their first basketball game, it was an honor to be that guy they wanted to watch. So it was pretty cool."
ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin and ESPNNewYork.com's Mike Mazzeo contributed to this report.
