Good sports

Last night's Celts game against the Lakers put us in mind of the championship days of yore, when tickets were tough to get and there were celebs by the dozen. On the guest list at the Garden were California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, Watertown native Eliza Dushku, Foxborough's popstar-in-residence JoJo Levesque, and "Arli$$" funnyman Robert Wuhl. Everett-bred "Grey's Anatomy" star Ellen Pompeo and her music exec husband, Chris Ivery, newlyweds in town to spend the holiday with her family, were expected to be seated right next to the C's bench as they took on their Left Coast rivals. A plethora of Patriots players scored tix to see the Big Three battle Kobe Bryant & Co. including Junior Seau, Richard Seymour, Ben Watson, Kevin Faulk, Laurence Maroney, Ellis Hobbs, Mike Wright, Matt Cassel, and Chad Scott. Donnie Wahlberg tapped his former New Kid band-mate Jordan Knight to join him at last night's game. The Dorchester-bred actor, who also was at Wednesday night's tilt, might get to use his courtside seats a bit more this season now that he's in town to film Southie native Brian Goodman's "Real Men Cry" with Ethan Hawke, Mark Ruffalo, and Amanda Peet. . . . A playful David Ortiz was center court helping Celtics' mascot Lucky with one of his tricks during a break in the game on Thanksgiving eve.

Taking a page from her husband's playbook, Kristina Hare Lyons has opened a chic boutique in Chestnut Hill. The wife of nightclub nabob Patrick Lyons has opened Portobello Road with her friend Marina Kalb, and the pair have high hopes for the place. Inspired in part by Midnight Farm, a trendy shop on Martha's Vineyard, Lyons likes to call Portobello Road a "store with a soul" that's stocked with unique clothing, jewelry, accessories, and furniture from around the world. "It's a response to the mall culture where everything is available everywhere and nothing is special," Lyons said. "The focus here is on design and craftsmanship." (The boho boutique at 47 Boylston St. features pieces by such disparate designers as Chan Luu, Hazel Brown, Odd Molly, Shoshanna, and Israeli jeweler Nava Zahavi.) Lyons, who has two children, ages 10 and 5, said she's looking forward to removing her mommy hat and traveling to trade shows in New York and LA. Asked whether her husband's considerable business acumen has been a help, Lyons said it has - sort of. "I've watched him from the sideline start many new businesses, and that's given me the sense that anything's possible," she said. "But, honestly, Patrick gets a migraine upon going into any store."

As if being People magazine's sexiest man wasn't enough, now Matt Damon has been chosen by Entertainment Weekly's editors as the "most popular" on the mag's annual Entertainers of the Year list that was released yesterday. ("Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling topped the list.) The Oscar-winning Cantabrigian's work as Jason Bourne in "The Bourne Identity" and its two sequels makes him "the thinking man's action hero," something that surprises even Damon. "I agree I'm not, as you say, the most likely badass killing machine," Damon told EW. "But I love this guy. And to be honest, these movies have changed my life." . . . While the hardworking Damon had been globetrotting in support of "The Bourne Ultimatum," which was released earlier this year, he won't be mentioning that during his appearance on Jay Leno's show next week. Because of the writers' strike, Leno's folks have dug deep into the rerun vault and will be airing a bit from a visit Damon made to Leno's show in 2000.

Curt Schilling tells the new issue of Armchair General magazine that he's never been to Europe. The Sox pitcher and John McCain supporter is on the board of the National World War II Museum, but he says he's waiting to visit historic battleground sites such as Normandy and Bastogne. "I want to take our four kids to all experience it for the first time together," says Schill, who reveals that his collection of World War II memorabilia includes 5,000 military books. (The dude's dog, a Rottweiler, is even named Patton.) Asked about the war on terror, No. 38 says he's grateful to the soldiers and their families. "I am offended by people who are using the war as a political platform or have an agenda," he says.

Westford's Susan Callahan couldn't have planned a holiday season marketing strategy any better than getting TV host Rachael Ray to pick Callahan's Goodies Homemade cookies as the "snack of the day" on Wednesday's show. Callahan's company started when she sent baked cookies to her daughter who was away at college, and now she ships all over the world. . . . Earlier this week, Martha Stewart singled out Felix Fu's Newton stationery boutique, Felix Doolittle, as one of her "Martha's Secret Sources."

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