UK royals watch 'King James' do battle

NEW YORK - It was the day the future king met the current king - of the basketball court.

America's finest talents, including basketball superstar LeBron James aka "King James", gave the warmest of welcomes to Britain's Prince William and wife Kate late on Monday, dazzling them at their first National Basketball Association game.

Rapper Jay-Z and superstar wife Beyonce chatted with the royals during an interval, and James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their seventh win in a row at the Barclays Centre.

The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player and double Olympian met the couple at the end of the match, giving them a Cavaliers jersey marked Cambridge and another for their one-year-old son, Prince George.

James, who overcame a tough upbringing to become one of America's greatest sporting legends, said: "For them to take time out of their schedule to come here, first time watching a basketball game, it was an honour that I was the guy they decided they wanted to watch."

His team, the Cavaliers, dispatched the Brooklyn Nets 110-88 in a lacklustre performance by the home team avidly supported by Jay-Z.

The royal couple sat courtside for the final two quarters of the match, were repeatedly offered refreshments by waiters and flashed up on the stadium camera as the emcee called on the crowd to give them a warm Brooklyn welcome.

Prince William, dressed in a checked shirt, blushed and then waved as the Duchess, who is five months' pregnant with her second child, smiled sweetly at her husband.

The royal couple's three-day visit, their first to America's biggest city, is a mix of diplomacy, supporting their favourite causes and promoting British business.