Updated 9:30pm ET
Protesters gathered at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Monday, hoping to redirect national media attention around the widely-publicized game to last week's decision by a New York grand jury not to indict anyone in the death of Eric Garner.
After a police officer put him in a chokehold, Garner gasped "I can't breathe" several times before dying.
Inside the stadium on Monday nights, players including LeBron James showed their support for the ongoing nationwide protest by wearing "I Can't Breathe" shirts.
Activists rallied on social media under the hashtag #RoyalShutdown, pointing to the fact that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were set to be sitting courtside at Monday evening's Brooklyn Nets game. The pair are in New York as part of a three-day official visit.
Shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday, protesters entered a nearby Target, staging a 'die-in' on the escalators.
"Die-in" on the mall escalators. #EricGarner pic.twitter.com/c4z41NUyha— Colin Daileda (@ColinDaileda) December 9, 2014
The protest followed the shutting down of a Staten Island bridge earlier in the day that halted commuters.
In Berkeley, students also staged protests with demonstrators chanting the rallying cry: "Hands up, don't shoot."
The high-profile police brutality case in New York has ignited protests across the U.S. since a Dec. 3 grand jury decision not to indict the NYPD officer who put Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black man, in a chokehold. The case received widespread attention after videos of the incident began circulating online, including the moment Garner gasped "I can't breathe" to the officers pinning him to the ground.
Garner's last words have become a rallying cry for activists denouncing his death at the hands of police.
"...& we'll never be royal..." #royalshutdown @rhymes4relief @carmenperez21 @Awkward_Duck @Jason_pollock pic.twitter.com/XVErpzhtrz— Justice League NYC (@NYjusticeleague) December 8, 2014
Superstar LeBron James, whose Cleveland Cavaliers were playing in the game, wore an "I Can't Breathe" T-shirt during warmups.
LeBron James is wearing an "I CAN'T BREATHE" t-shirt tonight in support of Eric Garner's family. pic.twitter.com/JBABcldoMu— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) December 9, 2014
James has previously said that the shirt worn by Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose was "spectacular."
LeBron's teammate Kyrie Irving was first to be spotted wearing one during practice, but he was soon joined by a whole posse of players.
Kyrie Irving warming up at Barclays Center in #ICantBreathe t-shirt. pic.twitter.com/PMAuGNhTcw— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) December 8, 2014
Players wearing “I Can’t Breathe” shirt: LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Kyrie Irving, Deron Williams, Jarrett Jack, Alan Anderson.— devin kharpertian (@uuords) December 9, 2014
There was a large police presence outside the Barclays Center stadium immediately ahead of the protest -- not that there was an enormous crowd to contend with at first.
A lot more protesters now than a few minutes ago, but the crowd is still about one third media. pic.twitter.com/ndNX74qJ4f— Colin Daileda (@ColinDaileda) December 8, 2014
But as the numbers of protestors increased, so did tensions with police.
Police are slowly inching protesters onto the sidewalk outside Barclays. Still peaceful from what I see. #EricGarner pic.twitter.com/ECVBVuOcIx— Colin Daileda (@ColinDaileda) December 9, 2014
The Garner decision came on the heels of a similar case hundreds of miles away in Ferguson, Missouri. A St. Louis grand jury decided on November 24 not to indict a police officer in the shooting death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown, igniting nationwide demonstrations.