Asbestos concerns set off by fallen debris at Madison Square Garden forced the postponement of the New York Knicks' game Tuesday night and put the self-proclaimed World's Most Famous Arena in a state of limbo. The closure seems likely to be brief, however. Inspectors for New York's Department of Environmental Protection visited the arena and concluded that no asbestos had been released when materials in the Garden attic were knocked loose during overnight maintenance. 'It doesn't appear that any asbestos was disturbed,' said Farrell Sklerov, a spokesman for the department. Additional sampling conducted by independent air monitors confirmed that finding, Sklerov said. Garden officials declined to comment on the city's findings and gave no indication about how long the arena would be closed. A Garden spokesman referred to a statement issued early in the afternoon that stressed that 'an abundance of caution' was being exercised. The Knicks were scheduled to play the Orlando Magic. Fans were advised to retain their tickets until a makeup date is announced. No events are scheduled for the next two days, but the Knicks have a home game Friday night against the Washington Wizards. A Wizards spokesman said he had not been notified of any potential changes. A Roger Waters concert is scheduled for Saturday night, and the Knicks and the Rangers are each scheduled to play at the Garden Sunday. Amid the uncertainty, Garden officials began exploring contingency plans, contacting officials at Prudential Center in Newark to gauge its availability, according to a person with knowledge of the conversation. During those talks, Garden officials indicated they were confident they could resolve the asbestos concerns by Friday. Although Prudential Center is amenable to hosting the Knicks, it is not available Friday, because the Devils are scheduled to play the Rangers there. There are logistical limits to how many games the Knicks can postpone if the Garden remains closed. The NBA would probably push them to move their games to another site. Both Prudential Center (the Nets' temporary home) and Izod Center (the Nets' previous home) are NBA-ready arenas. A spokesman for the New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority, which operates Izod Center, said that Garden officials had not yet contacted the group. 'We have a good professional relationship with them, and if the need arises, we'd be glad to help,' said the spokesman, John Samerjan. Izod Center is available Friday and appears to be open for the Knicks' next two home games after that, Sunday and Wednesday. The asbestos concerns began late Monday night, during routine maintenance after a Rangers game. According to the Garden's statement, workers were cleaning 'asbestos-related materials in the attic above the ceiling' when 'some debris fell into the arena.' The falling debris caused on-site air monitors to show slightly elevated levels of airborne fibers. More refined monitoring, which can distinguish different kinds of fibers, did not detect any airborne asbestos fibers, according to city officials. Neither the city nor the Garden would describe the nature of the debris or say how much had fallen. In its statement, the Garden said it had hired two independent firms -- ATC Associates and GCI Environmental Advisory -- 'to evaluate and determine the most appropriate course of action.' Built in 1967, the Garden is the NBA's oldest arena and retains some remnants of the era in which it was built, including asbestos, a fire retardant that can cause lung cancer when inhaled in sufficient quantities. Much of the asbestos at the Garden was removed during renovations done from 1989 to 1991. Garden officials did not say whether the remaining asbestos would be removed during the latest renovation, which is underway in some parts of the building. (The arena will be renovated over the next three summers, to avoid displacing the Knicks and the Rangers.) The Knicks had not postponed a home game since Jan. 7, 1996, when a snowstorm forced the cancellation of a game against the Seattle SuperSonics. The makeup game was played in April. The last time a Knicks home game was rescheduled for nonweather reasons was in December 1965, when a game against the Philadelphia 76ers was canceled after the death of the 76ers' owner, Ike Richman. A month earlier, the Knicks postponed a game against the St. Louis Hawks amid that year's famous blackout. Building malfunctions are a little rarer, although the Orlando Magic had a preseason game canceled last month because of a slick floor at an arena in Tampa, Fla. The Garden's concerns are reminiscent of Yankee Stadium's being closed in 1998 after a 500-pound beam fell from the upper deck into a swath of empty seats. The Yankees played their next game at Shea Stadium. Now the Knicks could face a similar predicament if they are forced to play in New Jersey. Outside the Garden Tuesday afternoon, employees with bullhorns walked along Seventh Avenue, announcing that the Knicks game had been postponed. The only outward sign of anything unusual, other than the bullhorns, was the absence of ticket scalpers. Mark Strauss, a lawyer who represents patients with mesothelioma -- a cancer linked to asbestos inhalation -- said the Garden was doing the right thing. 'It makes me proud to live in this city when people act safe like that,' said Strauss, whose firm has Knicks season tickets. 'Better to act on the side of being safe, instead of assuming something is safe.' 