America's finest talent has given the warmest of welcomes to Britain's Prince William and wife Catherine, dazzling them at their first NBA game featuring basketball legend LeBron James.
Rapper Jay-Z and superstar wife Beyonce chatted to the royals during an interval late on Monday, and James treated them to a breathtaking display of brilliance as he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their seventh win in a row at the Barclays Center.
The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player and double Olympian met the royal couple at the end of the match, giving them a Cavaliers shirt marked Cambridge and another for their one-year-old son Prince George.
Nicknamed "King James" and a player who overcame a tough upbringing to become one of America's greatest sporting legends, he said before the match it would be a "huge honour" to play before royalty.
The Cavaliers dispatched the Brooklyn Nets 110-88 in a lacklustre performance by the home team avidly supported by Jay-Z.
Five months pregnant with her second child, the Duchess of Cambridge covered her baby bump in a grey coat by New York designer Tory Burch and wore her auburn hair gently waved.
The 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 MC called on the crowd to give them a warm Brooklyn welcome.
William, dressed in a checked shirt, blushed and then waved as Kate smiled sweetly at her husband.
Jay-Z and Beyonce, dubbed Brooklyn royalty by many, sat opposite them on the other side of the court. The US music A-listers walked over to say hello and chat for several minutes to the royal couple to deafening cheers from the crowd.
Outside, protests demanding justice for black men killed by white police officers continued for a sixth straight night.
Dozens staged a spirited demonstration, shouting "how do you spell racist, NYPD" and carried placards, hoping to attract royal attention and the bevy of TV crews parked outside.
James and other NBA players wore "I can't breathe" T-shirts as they warmed up before the game in tribute to the protest movement.
It was a star-struck end to a packed day that saw William laugh and joke with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office before the couple met widely tipped 2016 presidential contender Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea in New York.
The royal couple's lightning three-day visit, their first to America's biggest city, is a mix of diplomacy, supporting their favourite causes and promoting British business.
Second in line to the throne, William is increasingly taking on more long-haul work for the British monarchy as Queen Elizabeth approaches her nineties.
He sought Obama's support for his campaign to end illegal wildlife trafficking and the president, reportedly an ardent admirer of William's grandmother, appeared only too happy to oblige.
William spoke to Obama about welcoming his second child with Kate next year, joking that during all the excitement of George's birth, he didn't know whether it was a boy or girl.
"You forgot to ask?" laughed Obama.
William continued his first visit to Washington DC with a speech at the World Bank, saying annual profits of $US20 billion ($A21.64 billion) from illegal wildlife trade funds organised crime and armed groups.
"Co-operation is our greatest weapon against the poachers and traffickers," said William. "By taking a truly international approach, we can get one step ahead of them."
Left in New York, Kate spent an hour at a child development centre, wrapping a Christmas present and helping three and four-year-olds do art and crafts.
Dressed in a $US1000 black coat by British label Goat, she waved to well-wishers who braved the freezing cold at the Northside Center for Child Development in Harlem.
"They thought she was the princess from Frozen," said Rose Ann Harris, an administrator, referring to the wildly popular Hollywood animation as the duchess said goodbye to children.
A New York ambulance was dispatched to accompany her, reportedly as a precaution because of her pregnancy.
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