Williams Pays but Doesn’t Play

Piston center Brian Williams, who kissed a referee when he was with the Clippers, jokingly tried to hand money to referee Dick Bavetta during a timeout in the second quarter Thursday.

“It was just a joke,” said Williams, who sat out his first game of the season because of tendinitis in his left knee. “I only had $20 on me. I was just teasing Dick.”

Said Bavetta: “I wasn’t even aware of that.”

Williams waved and talked with fans as he walked off the court at halftime.

“Actually, I do miss it,” Williams said. “I enjoyed playing here. I would love to have played in this one. I still have a few friends out there and they’ve got a few fans left.”

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Clipper Coach Bill Fitch inserted rookie forward Maurice Taylor at the start of the second half and pulled him after 50 seconds.

Fitch apparently wanted to give Taylor advice on how to check guard Grant Hill.

Taylor, who was reinserted with 9:33 remaining in the quarter, immediately threw a beautiful no-look pass to set up Lorenzen Wright for a layup.