LOS ANGELES — There were stars and there was Starbury. Both came out to see the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night at Staples Center and all of them — from Stefani to Stephon — had one thing in common: a front row seat and no chance of playing in what was a 116-114 loss to the Lakers.

"Oh yeah, I miss this a lot," Marbury said of his exile from the Knicks. "This is the closest I'm going to get to the game right now."

Marbury bought a ticket and was sitting courtside. It was a scene that drew grins and chuckles from the Knicks' players and head shakes from just about everyone else.

"It's no big deal," Mike D'Antoni said. "About 19,000 people will be here tonight, so if he wants to see a good game, that's great."

And he, along with the rest of the sellout crowd, certainly did. In the second game of a tough back-to-back, which included a hard-fought and, for D'Antoni, emotional, loss to the Suns in Phoenix, the Knicks came out Tuesday night shooting. They made 11 three-pointers in the first half to jump out to a surprising 65-50 lead at halftime.

The hot shooting cooled in the second half and the Lakers chipped away at the lead. After Kobe Bryant nailed a pull-up with 1:38 to go to give the Lakers a 111-109 lead, Nate Robinson answered with a corner three with 1:18 left to put the Knicks ahead, 112-111. On the ensuing possession, Al Harrington had a chance to tip away a pass to Lamar Odom, but Odom managed to get the ball and fed Trevor Ariza for an alley-oop with 1:03 left to put the Lakers back in front, 113-112. Harrington then missed on a drive and Ariza missed an open three-pointer that would have been a dagger with 27.9 seconds to go.

Robinson drove the lane for what would have been another go-ahead basket, but his layup fell short with 11.9 seconds left. Derek Fisher hit two free throws with 6.4 seconds left to make it a three-point lead for the Lakers. Fisher then pulled a veteran move when he fouled Robinson before he could attempt a potential game-tying three. Robinson, who was 12- for-12 from the line in the game, hit both with 3.8 seconds left. Fisher hit just one of two from the line with 2.7 seconds left, which gave the Knicks one more shot at the win. But Chris Duhon's desperation try from halfcourt sailed wide at the buzzer.

Robinson finished with 33 points and David Lee added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks (11-14). Bryant led the Lakers (21-3) with 28 points.

Marbury, who is in town to check on his Hollywood condo and check up on matters related to his Starbury brand, sat alone in the courtside seat in the far corner of the floor, across from the Lakers bench. He was greeted by Spike Lee and Chris Rock before the game and at halftime, with the Knicks ahead 65-50 after an impressive first half. Marbury talked as if he wasn't in any hurry to get back to the negotiating table to complete his buyout talks with the Knicks. He even said he called off Hal Biagas, the NBA players' association associate counsel who was representing him in the talks with Knicks president Donnie Walsh.

"I basically told him don't even worry about it," Marbury said. "Let them do what they're going to do and make a decision when they're ready to make a decision."

Asked if he was prepared to sit out the entire season, Marbury replied, "I'm getting healthy. This is going to save two or three years of my career. This has been great for me . . . I didn't create this, so I don't regret a thing. This is all their doing."

Marbury, who has been given permission to seek interest from other teams, says he has been in touch with a few already and isn't concerned about how his extended exile — and everything involving it — appears to other teams around the NBA.

"Only thing I got to do is get free," he said. "The team that I'm going to go to, I think a lot of people will be shocked."

Notes & quotes: Jared Jeffries did not play because of soreness in his left leg. Jeffries, who did not play in the second half against the Suns, had an X-ray taken on his left leg — he suffered a fractured tibia during training camp — after the game. The results were negative . . . Lakers big man Pau Gasol sat out because of strep throat.