NBA
Notebook: Miami counts on home court to get back in series

By Seattle Times news services

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MIAMI — The place won't be the way the Indiana Pacers left it.

And they know it. But many are thinking back to how they remember the AmericanAirlines Arena crowds, in playoff confrontations they weren't even a part of.

"A couple of years ago, I was there for a Miami-New York Knick series," backup point guard Anthony Johnson said. "And it was deafening down there. Now that they have a winning organization again, they are looking forward to playing at home. They won 16 in a row. I know the crowd's going to be into it and try to get them pumped."

"I've seen basketball in Miami where they were playing the Knicks and all the other teams when it was sold out and crazy there," Fred Jones said.

Ron Artest, who grew up a Knicks fan, also recalled those matchups at the Heat's house, which he sometimes visited as a fan.

"So I know how that building is going to get," Artest said.

It certainly will get louder than it did the last time the Pacers were there. In their only appearance, on Jan. 5, the Pacers were greeted by a crowd listed, generously, at 14,553. The Heat is expecting more than 20,000 tonight.

"You know, Boston's high-style, Detroit's high-style, so it's going to be just like that," said Artest, who gave the Heat crowd his middle finger in January 2003. "It's hard to really worry about it. It's fun for the fans. It's fun for the 10 guys on the court, and everybody's coming to see you. But there's a time when you got to put that aside. All we're thinking about is winning."

But the Heat also knows it won't be easy with the way the Pacers are playing.

"From where we've been, nothing bothers us now," guard Dwyane Wade said. "This team, we don't worry about anything. When we start playing our game, we know we're a pretty tough team."
 
The problem for the Heat, though, is that the Pacers have taken them out of their game. The bigger, more physical team has dominated the series — even without much help from All-Star forward Jermaine O'Neal — and showed no signs of relenting on the road.

Guard play has hurt Miami in the first two games.

Wade scored a combined 41 points in the first two games but also had 12 turnovers against nine assists. Eddie Jones managed just three shots in the series opener and has scored a combined 13 points on 3-of-9 shooting.

Some want Williams in jail

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — Friends and family of the limousine driver killed by Jayson Williams have broken their silence — and say they ache to see the basketball star behind bars.

"Some jail time may do Mr. Williams some good," Andrea Adams, sister of Costas (Gus) Christofi, told the New York Daily News in her first interview since the April 30 verdict.

"Maybe it would give him something to think about, so something like this would not happen again.

"I'm a religious person, and it's not like me to be vindictive," said Adams. "I just wish there would be some sort of justice for what happened."

Williams, 36, was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter but convicted of four cover-up charges in the Feb. 14, 2002, shooting at his mansion in rural New Jersey. He faces a total of 13 years in prison, though he could conceivably get probation. His lawyers have vowed to appeal the cover-up convictions.

Referring directly to the man who killed her brother, Adams said: "I hope he can sleep at night. Because he knows down deep what happened better than anyone else."

Bryant: not guilty plea expected

EAGLE, Colo. — Although merely a formality, NBA star Kobe Bryant is expected to plead not guilty this week to charges he raped a 19-year old woman last summer.

The formal arraignment scheduled Wednesday will cap three days of hearings. But the prospect of Bryant, 25, uttering a forceful "not guilty" at the televised arraignment will get the most attention, observers say.

"It gives you film of no significance," said Larry Pozner, a former defense lawyer. "If people want to see Kobe Bryant saying in a hard, strong voice, 'Not guilty,' they get it. But come on, of course only America would put significance on it."