Heat point guard Rod Strickland felt good
about returning to Washington for the first time since being released at midseason by the Wizards last year, but the home crowd did not feel likewise Wednesday night.

Strickland was greeted with widespread boos when he was introduced along with the rest of the Heat's starting lineup at MCI Center. He was also booed each time he touched the ball during the game. Asked before the game about the reception he would receive, Strickland knew such a welcome was a possibility.

``I don't know,'' said Strickland, who lives in the Washington area in the offseason. ``They might boo me, they might cheer me. All I know is that when I was here, they showed me nothing but love. I still have nothing but love for D.C.''


SCOTT DEFENDS

When Pat Riley coached Byron Scott with the Lakers in the 1980s, Riley never envisioned Scott as a coach.

``But as he progressed, he took to it, and that's what he wanted to do,'' Riley said.

Friday at AmericanAirlines Arena, Riley will face off against Scott -- as coach of the Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey Nets -- for the first time this season. When Riley greets his former player and friend, he might want to thank him for being one of only a few voices who have defended Riley, the subject of much criticism in recent weeks.

The criticism ``kind of upsets me,'' Scott said. ``I don't think No. 1 [that] it is necessary. And No. 2, one thing I remember about Riles [when I was] a player is that he always had his players' backs. He'd do anything for his players to make them better, to make them feel more at home. He wanted everything done first-class for his players. For guys to come at him like this is ludicrous for me.''

Scott believes Riley might retire soon.

``I think he was getting to the point where now he is thinking about giving the game up anyway,'' Scott said. ``He has made a couple of comments about not being able to reach the players nowadays and it is kind of hard to change when you have been doing it for 30 years and he has been getting the results he has been getting. I think he is probably going to think about hanging it up in the next year or two.''