ARLINGTON, Texas — David Lee admitted to a “nauseous” feeling on the Cowboys Stadium makeshift basketball court at last night’s NBA All-Star Game after playing before a record crowd of 108,713 and under the massive HD Jumbotron.
“You’re almost nauseous being so close to it,” Lee said after making his All-Star debut last night as the first Knicks All-Star since 2001. “Especially when the scoreboard is larger than the court.”
Big was the operative word. Before tip-off, the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki grabbed the microphone and spoke to the record crowd in the cavernous, gleaming stadium, saying “Everything is big in Texas.”
But it was even bigger than expected. The NBA said it would sell just 90,000 seats despite Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s insistence on pushing the envelope and going past 100,000.
Cuban won his battle, and so did the Eastern Conference, 141-139, before 108,713, the biggest crowd ever to watch a basketball game.
The massive celebrity-studded crowd also set the record for biggest attendance figure in this palace which opened for Cowboys football in September. Alicia Keys sang a stirring rendition of “Empire State of Mind” at halftime.
Lee, added as an injury replacement for the Sixers’ Allen Iverson, played 12:26 and made 2 of 3 shots for four points, but had three turnovers.
“I just wanted a bucket and a win,” said Lee, who rushed out of the stadium to catch a charter flight so he can head to Knicks practice. “I got both.”
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Dwyane Wade finished with 28 points, 11 assists and five steals for the East to win MVP honors. One of Wade’s assists was to Lee, who scored on a fastbreak layup.
“Dwayne gave me a good first pass for my first bucket as an All-Star,” Lee said.
Lee started the second quarter — with Chris Bosh joining him in the frontcourt — and missed a layup on his first attempt. In the third quarter, Lee was on the court with LeBron James and Wade.
“We were laughing about it, the difference between guys who’ve played before and not, like me, Gerald Wallace, [Rajon] Rondo,” Lee said. “We definitely didn’t have the comfort level of guys who’ve played five, six All-Star games.
“But I couldn’t have enjoyed it anymore, interacting with them, getting advice instead of giving as one of the leaders on the Knicks. It was a role reversal.”
The East nearly blew a nine-point lead in the final four minutes, but Dallas native Bosh saved his team. After getting fouled by Chauncey Billups on a drive with the score tied at 139, Bosh hit two free throws with 5.8 seconds left for the winning points. Carmelo Anthony (27 points) missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the West.
* A source said the four Cowboys cheerleaders who appeared on court with Nate Robinson on his title-winning dunk Saturday have been invited by Robinson to sit courtside when the Knicks face the Mavericks in Dallas on March 13.
* Magic assistant coach Patrick Ewing was an Eastern assistant last night.
Though big names have been bandied about for the Nets’ head coaching job, Ewing said he hasn’t heard from them.
“Hopefully they will bless me with at least an interview,” Ewing told The Post.