NBA Notes: Davis out 5 games; fan planning lawsuit

NEW YORK — Knicks forward Antonio Davis was suspended five games by the NBA on Thursday for entering the stands during a game in Chicago to confront a fan he thought was harassing his wife.

While the penalty showed the NBA accepted Davis' argument that he believed his wife was in trouble during Wednesday night's game, it also made clear that entering the stands would not be tolerated, no matter the circumstances.

Especially not after last season's ugly brawl between fans and players at an Indiana-Detroit game last season.

"At the end of the day, what we had to decide on was the issue of Antonio breaking the barrier from the court into the stands," NBA vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson said during a conference call. "At the end of the day, that was the most important aspect of making that decision."

The trouble for Davis and his wife, however, might not be over.

Michael Axelrod, the 22-year-old fan that Davis confronted, said he did nothing wrong — and he plans to file a $1 million battery and slander suit against Davis and his wife, Kendra. Axelrod said Kendra Davis tried to scratch him after he protested a call. He said he never laid a hand on her and he was not drunk, as the Knicks forward contended.

"It's a lie," said Axelrod, the son of David Axelrod, a big-wheel Democratic consultant who has worked with Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

Davis' suspension began with Thursday night's home loss to Detroit, and the players' union plans to file a grievance to commissioner David Stern. The five-game penalty would cost Davis close to $700,000.

Axelrod said he was jeering a ref's call against the Bulls from his seventh-row seat when Kendra Davis, sitting two rows in front of him, suddenly stood up and got in his face.

"Once the ref blows his whistle, I yell out, 'That's a terrible call,' and then I start booing with everybody else," Axelrod said.

"She has her finger on me, on my cheek. She was digging her finger in. I thought she might start scratching me," Axelrod said. "I say, 'Get your hands off me. Don't touch me, I'm trying to watch the game.' "

He said she then started rubbing his cheek and mocking him, saying, " 'I'm not touching you. It's OK, baby.' "

"I felt like hitting her, but you can't — she's a woman," he said.

Abdur-Rahim returns

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim was back in uniform for the Sacramento Kings, making an improbably quick return to action with his broken jaw still wired shut.

Abdur-Rahim missed 10 games over the past 3 ½ weeks after getting hurt in a collision with Portland's Zach Randolph. But instead of sitting out two months, as the team predicted, the veteran tested his stamina and breathing ability against the Los Angeles Lakers.

"What am I waiting for?" Abdur-Rahim asked through clenched teeth before the game. "I feel good, and I've just got to see what I feel like in a game."

Notes

• Baron Davis, Golden State guard, was suspended for one game without pay by the NBA for hitting Seattle's Luke Ridnour in the chest on Monday.

• Los Angeles Clippers center Zeljko Rebraca was cleared to return to action after missing 24 games because of an irregular heartbeat.

• The Washington recalled center Peter John Ramos from the Roanoke Dazzle of the NBA's D-League.

• Charlotte forward Sean May had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, likely ending his rookie season.

• New Jersey Nets backup guard Jeff McInnis underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

• Chicago Bulls general manager John Paxson was fined $15,000 by the NBA on for verbally abusing referees after a loss to Denver on Monday.

• Detroit's Flip Saunders will coach the Eastern Conference in the NBA All-Star Game Feb. 19 in Houston.